Outsider Perspective
by TheRoseShadow21
Summary: 16yr old Reuben Goodrich enjoys a normal life - studying for exams , hanging out with friends ,playing with his little sisters and watching weird videos on the internet. But when it occurs to him that the events of the latest 'despair inducing' web-series are real , sinister secrets are unearthed and his entire world changes… rated T to be safe. AU [SYOC closed].
1. Prologue: This Fairy Tale

**So , after seeing quite a lot of interesting and well written SYOC stories , I have decided to try my own! Full details are below. In the meantime , enjoy this prologue **

_This is a story of three little children. Two girls and a boy. Siblings, all close in age . _

_These siblings lived a hard life, growing up on the poor side of town in abject poverty. Food on the table was a miracle , and crime was a common occurrence. Their parents had lived the same life , and so they knew no different. _

_Except , there was something about special about these siblings. _

_Each of them was highly gifted in a particular area, more so than the average child their age. One of the girls had a highly scientific mind, always pulling apart and reconstructing appliances, often making them better than before. The boy had a way with words, and quickly became an accomplished writer, weaving words like magic. And the other girl, the eldest of the three, was athletically adept , outperforming people double her age. For this reason, they stood out in their grim inner-city elementary school, where learning to read was a major accomplishment. _

_But because of their ability, they stood out to many others, which was why one day a letter inviting them to attend a private school arrived at their apartment. It was a high school , normally meant for privileged children , but they would be getting a scholarship as well as the chance to skip many years of their schooling and learn as appropriate of their level._

_The children had all heard of this school , famed for its high success rates , but to them it had been a distant dream ._

_Until now. _

_When their parents saw the letter , they were stunned. They understood nothing about education , but did know that in order for their kids to have a better life , it was something they needed. So they gave their permission for the children to attend. _

_They were pleased. Finally, it seemed that their story was about to get a happy ending. _

…

_Their hopes were soon dashed. Although they were stimulated by the learning, and the teachers loved them, the students didn't feel the same way. As most of them were born into privilege, they resented most scholarship students, viewing them as imposters taking up space that was rightly theirs. Combined with the fact that these scholarship students were so much younger than them…the feelings that resulted were not so good. Of course, they weren't all like that-some of the girls(and a couple of boys) found the siblings cute , and would babysit them at lunchtimes . But the vast majority were horrible, making this kind minority fade into comparison. _

_It was this part of their new school lives that they hated. But they wanted to make the best of it, believing that the happy ending was just further away than they'd thought. And so , every day , they set off on the long journey with their worn backpacks , faded clothes and enthusiastic smiles , hoping for something better._

_For a long time , their days were a repetition of interesting lessons , bullies , and the occasional hug at lunchtime , with the same old poverty back at home each evening. _

_But one day, things changed. This time, for the worse. _

_Autumn had just begun, and the children had been in afterschool clubs, meaning that the sun was setting when they left school. They were laughing, running and chasing each other, kicking up the newly fallen leaves as they did so. In other words, behaving like normal , happy kids. _

_This was why they didn't notice a group of students forming a threatening circle around them until it was too late. _

"_Nee-san? Nii-san?" the youngest of the three trembled, and the siblings gripped each other, watching the highschoolers cautiously. The group only consisted of boys , and the look they had was not the same one the siblings recognised from their school days. Rather than bored and annoyed , the boys all looked positively evil. There was also the distinct scent of alcohol in the air._

"_Oh , look. Look what we have here!" one of the boys said. _

"_One of the little bugs. Oh, no! All three of them!" another called out_

"_Bugs. I hate bugs. What about you boys?"_

_The others all made noises of agreement. The eldest sibling started to move forward to shield her little brother and sister. _

"_Yes! And do you know what I do with bugs that I hate?"_

_The answer came from all of the boys._

"_CRUSH THEM!"_

_The children tried to run, but they were surrounded. The eldest sister went into what could almost be described as an attack mode, shielding her brother and sister as much as she could while delivering blows to as many of the boys as she could. She kept at it until most of them were suitably distracted with retaliating and maintaining their so called dignity. _

"_RUN!" she roared at her siblings, who were a small heap on the ground. _

_The brother got up suddenly, pulling his little sister up. They began to run. _

"_What about Nee-san?" the little sister asked._

"_I…don't know." _

_The little sister stopped and turned. She couldn't see her sister , but she could hear her voice , yelling for them to run and not stop until they got home._

_Crying , unsure what to do , she followed her brother._

…

_As it got dark, it dawned on the children's parents that they should be worried that they weren't home yet. Although their children were hardy, it was too late for ones of their age to be out so late. And, so , they reluctantly got over their distrust of the police , and begged them to bring their children home. _

_And bring them home they did. But they only brought home two._

_And so , the story had no happy ending. _

**Right, where should I start? Well, this story is going to have 18 students in the Mutual Life of High School Killing. From the original Dangan Ronpa, I have decided to include Naegi, Kirigiri and Chihiro. I will also be choosing two of my own OCs, which leaves 13 OC slots to fill: 6 boys and 7 girls. I will also need another female OC who will have a different role –if I select your OC for that role, I will PM with a request for extra details about the character as appropriate. **

**You'll be wondering what the deadline is. I will give two. The first deadline is the 15****th**** of January, and hopefully by then I will have put up the first chapter which will introduce Reuben and his life, and also begin to set up this story. Depending on how many OC slots are filled by then, I will then give another week for applications. Until then, good luck!**

**Here is the form for submitting OCs. You can do this by review or PM:**

**Name (preferably do this in the English way , with the given name first. Otherwise , please specify if you are doing this the Japanese way):  
Age(should be between 15-18 unless there is a good reason):  
Super Duper High School Level(SDHSL):  
Gender:  
Nationality(Preferably Japanese but I don't mind):  
Physical Appearance:  
Clothes:  
Back Story:  
Personality:  
Role in Trial:  
Other Relevant Details(Optional , this can include whether they are likely to be victims or murderers , any likes or dislikes , or any random trivia that surrounds your OC): **

**^^Again , good luck! And do leave feedback!**


	2. Daily Life

**Looks like I managed to finish this chapter early , so I guess I might as well post it now. This is pretty much an intro chapter for the character Reuben Goodrich , so the first deadline of 15****th**** January for submitting OCs still stands. I currently have three male and three female places left. As I've already started typing the OC introductory chapter for the OCs that I do have , it shouldn't take too long after that deadline for the chapter to be uploaded. If remaining slots fill up before the deadline , I will update the story summary accordingly. **

**Anyway , enjoy reading!**

"Reuben! Come play with me!"

As soon as he'd closed his front door and stepped into the house , his three year old adoptive sister Matilda had come rushing at him , hugging his legs and asking him to play.

"Whoa , Birdy! I've just come from school!"

Matilda made an obliging tweeting sound before letting go and looking up at him.

"Play with me? Please?"

Reuben sighed as he put down his bag and took off his coat.

"I have too much homework to do , so I can't. Sorry. "

"Auuu." Matilda pulled a face signalling the beginning of a tantrum. Panicking momentarily , Reuben bent down and unzipped his bag , pulling out his homework planner and turning it to the page he was looking for.

"Look here, Birdy. See all this homework?"

Although Matilda could not read yet , she had been working on identifying letters , and so looked at the pages of his planner with great interest.

"Ohh, that's an 'o'…and an 'a' and 'e' and 'f' and 'b' …..And , ohh, a 'm' for Matilda!That's lots of letters! "She paused "lots of homeworks?"

"Yep._ Lots_ of homeworks. Sorry, Birdy. Maybe ask Megan to play with you?"

"Meggie's got basketball today! Remember? She just phoned Mummy to remind her!"

"Oh. Well, sorry about that, Birdy. "

"It's OK." Matilda disappeared into the living room, and sighing , Reuben headed upstairs.

…

Polishing off the cookie, Reuben finally finished the last question of his Maths homework, and gratefully ticked it off on his planner. Things were harder in 6th form than they were at GCSE, and he momentarily found himself wishing he could go back to last year.

He glanced at his computer. It was practically calling to him. He did have some research for History…

Before he could change his mind, he was powering up the computer and opening the internet. He spent the next half an hour doing his research, resisting the urge to abandon it and just mess around on the internet. If he did, the homework would never get done, and he'd be screwed.

But eventually , it was finished. He sighed , and leaned back in his chair. What to do now?

"Hey there , Reu!" The voice of his other sister , 13 year old Megan , drifted in through his ajar door.

"How was basketball?" he asked.

"Same old , same old. It was fine!" came the reply.

" Okay. "

Reuben thought a moment , then said

"Hey, Megan, give me a random word."

"Eh?"

"Just do it."

"Fine , you weirdo…..erm , despair!"

"Thanks !"

"You're a weirdo." Megan reiterated , going to her room. Reuben grinned, and added that to the word he had already typed into the search engine.

He was surprised to find an actual hit that included both words. Clicking on it , he was taken to a website which contained nothing more than a few videos.

"A web series?" he wondered , looking for a title. Then his eyes found it

_Despair Academy: Mutual Life of High School Killing._

Huh? He blinked , and then grinned. The potential strangeness of this was right up his street. He might as well watch it-he_ had_ finished his homework, after all. But then , his stomach rumbled.

He rolled his eyes , made sure to add the site to his favourites , and shut down the computer.

…

After dinner , Reuben helped his mother with the washing up. Not out of choice , but because it was his turn to.

"Tomorrow's your shift at the Bird House , isn't it? " his mother asked as she handed him a plate to dry.

She was referring to the small , eclectic restaurant that the family co-owned with an old friend of Reuben's father. Reuben nodded.

"When Dad gets back , remind him I'm only helping out on the takeout section. "

"Ok , sure. Bring your homework with you , it'll give you something to do."

"It's April already Mum, I figured that out at the beginning of the year."

"Of course you did! Anyway , get to bed , I'll do the rest."

"Really."

"Yeah, go on. Rest your brain a little. "

Gratefully, Reuben rushed upstairs.

After packing his school bag for the next day, brushing his teeth and changing into pyjamas , he crashed into bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

…

The next day, he was hanging around with in the common room, when Joseph , one of the friends he was with , asked if he would be interested in coming to a party.

"We can go there early since we get to leave at 1, and then we can hook you up with a girl , how about that?"

Reuben rolled his eyes. As much as Joseph was a good laugh, he seemed a little too obsessed with girls. At this point in his life, he wasn't all that interested.

"I'm working at the Bird House today. No go mate."

"Ah, damn mind. Don't you ever have fun?"

"Sure I do."

"Yeah , yeah. Toddlers and YouTube isn't living!"

_Mutual Life of High School Killing_. For some reason, the title of the web-series popped into his head. He dismissed it.

"Oh , leave him alone!" Max , one of Reuben's other friends said. "Least he's got his head screwed on right."

"Oh , and I haven't?"

"Obviously."

The boys laughed, and chatted about mindless things for the rest of the free period.

…

The Bird House was quiet when Reuben arrived. The only customers there were ones who had chosen to eat in, and those were only a few.

"Hi Dad!" Reuben called out.

"Hey Reuben!" came a shout from somewhere in the kitchen. Some of the waiters milling around nearby waved to him, and Reuben waved back.

Going into the back room, he took some homework out of his bag , then dumped his bag underneath the coat hooks. Then, he hung up his blazer, took down an apron, and pinned his name badge to his clothes , before going to sit behind the takeout counter.

"Oh?" A tiny, fish-shaped bottle was lying by the till. He picked it up, and unscrewed the lid. Then he sniffed cautiously.

"Soy sauce?"

Almost on cue , his father yelled from the kitchen.

"Reuben! Have you seen a bottle of soy sauce anywhere?"

"Is it fish-shaped?"

"Yeah! You found it?"

"I'll bring it over!"

Once he had done that , Reuben resigned himself for four quiet , long hours with only a few orders to take breaking the monotony.

…

There had been more take-out orders placed than Reuben had anticipated , and so he was relieved when his mother arrived to take over.

At home , he did a bit of revision for the exams that were approaching , and spent some time playing with Matilda and helping Megan with her science project until his father came home to make them dinner.

When he went upstairs, he was even more drained than he had been the day before. At least it was a Friday. That meant he wouldn't need to wake up the next day.

He glanced passingly at the computer.

_Mutual Life of High School Killing._

He hadn't even started watching , and it was already getting under his skin. Giving out a short laugh , he sat down and powered up the computer.

Why wait until tomorrow? It's not like it would matter, he reasoned.

It _is_ the weekend, after all.

**Matilda's nickname has no relation to the name of the family restaurant. Just in case you were wondering. **

**I know, this was fairly short. But this really was just a brief look into Reuben's life , and the other chapters **_**will **_**be longer. Most of them will , anyway . Some chapters will be a bit unconventional regardless of length and I will explain that when the time comes. **

**Until then, feedback would be appreciated. ^^**


	3. Meet the Cast

**And here we have it! The OC introductory chapter, which introduces the characters taking part in the Mutual Life of High School Killing. Bear (no pun intended) in mind that this is just an intro , and so not all aspects of a character will be immediately shown. I did , however , try to be as true to the characters as possible . In case you are wondering which ones are my OCs , they are Suzu Isaki and Eirik Maeda. They are characters I have submitted to other SYOCs , so you may or may not have seen them before. **

**Also , the setup of the video is meant to be a bit like the first episode of the anime. **

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

The first minute or so of the video simply consisted of clips of students approaching a large school building. A voice over was describing things in a foreign language , but luckily for Reuben , the maker of the video had ben thoughtful enough to add English subtitles. This was how he learnt that the school was called Hope's Peak Academy, and it was a school that searched out the brightest , most talented young students in any field. These students were ones that represented the hopes of the future , and so the school would nuture and teach them in a way that was suitable for such students.

Then , the screen went black, and stayed like that for a few seconds. When a scene was shown again , it was of a dimly lit classroom with individual desks. There was a boy , asleep on one of them . The voice over continued briefly to tell the viewer about the 'Luck Lottery' the school ran each year , entering the names of ordinary high schoolers all over the country. The person who had their name selected would be entered into the school as 'Super Duper High School Level Good Luck'. Then , the voice over stopped , and the boy woke up , sitting up slowly. Reuben saw that he was average looking , much like himself. But this boy had incredibly spiky brown hair, and green-grey eyes.

MAKOTO NAEGI  
SDHSL: GOOD LUCK

The letters , which (weirdly , in Reuben's opinion) were in English , flashed up on the screen in bright letters , next to the boy. As Makoto got up , the letters disappeared.

"Where…am I?" Makoto wondered.

_Presumably inside the school_. Reuben retorted silently. Then , at the same time as Makoto , he spotted something on the desk. Reuben watched as Makoto picked it up. It looked like a poster, done in ridiculously childish crayon scribbles. Matilda would have probably done a better job.

"Entrance Ceremony…Gymnasium….8 AM?" Makoto looked at a clock on the classroom wall, and legged it out of there.

He rushed around, completely ignoring the strange lighting and weird wallpaper…and even what looked like steel plates affixed over the windows, until he came across two large doors.

"Could this be…?" with all his strength, Makoto pushed the door. Reuben found himself holding his breath as he watched.

Apparently this was the Gymnasium. And, even better (or worse, depending) , there were a number of students in there too.

"Are you the Good Luck student?" a male voice asked.

"Y...Yeah. Makoto Naegi." Makoto stepped into the gymnasium, closing the door behind him.

"Oh my , so it is true. I think that's amazing._ Just amazing_. My name is Marvin Karin , by the way. Will you remember that?" the somewhat lusty voice belonged to an extremely slim girl with long deep -red hair and bright red lipstick, who was approaching Makoto.

MARVIN KARIN  
SDHSL:CHARMER

Reuben snorted in derision at the title , clocking Marvin's very short , tight and revealing black dress. He remembered how some of Megan's friends wore outfits much like this whenever they came around.

_If Megan turns out like this Marvin I swear to God I'll…_ Then he remembered that this was fiction , and resumed watching. Makoto was struggling to escape from the girl's advances when he yelled and almost backed into the door in surprise.

A mischievous looking girl had just tickled him , and her fingers were still moving. She giggled impishly.

MIRAI SAKAMOTO  
SDHSL:HACKER

This girl was also slim , but she was pale , and the black hair with white highlights emphasised this . So did her clothes , which also had a black-and white colour scheme. Asides from the dragon on her black t-shirt. He couldn't begin to tell what colour that was . Taking her title into account , he assumed the motion of her fingers was meant to mimic typing.

Mirai grinned as Makoto spluttered , and then , just like that , she was gone , leaving Naegi to deal with Marvin alone.

"I'm sorry , I can't read what that says. "

The focus shifted to another part of the gymnasium , and the focus was on two students. One was a boy who had stylish hair that was so red it could only be dyed , and mismatched eyes. One brown , one gold. Reuben was pretty sure that there was a name for those type of eyes , but he couldn't remember it. The boy was clad in clothes that Reuben could only describe as fancy , with all the red and gold and velvet everywhere. He also noticed the boots that the boy was wearing had a bit of heel to them.

The girl standing next to him was holding a notebook opened at a page with writing on it. She was tanned and pretty , her hair long and black and held back with a hairclip shaped like a rose. She wore a silvery cardigan over a black and light blue outfit. Oddly , she had a red ear stud in one ear , but the other wasn't pierced at all. She didn't say a word.

JANUS 'JAY' ABANDONATO  
SDHSL: STAGE ACTOR

SUZU ISAKI  
SDHSL:ICE SCULPTOR

Reuben assumed that the girl was Suzu and the boy was Janus.

"She's written that her name is Suzu Isaki , and that she wants to know your name too. How come you can't read Japanese?" _So this series comes from Japan , huh?_

The person who had spoken was a dark -blue haired boy who had been in the background for the previous few moments. His clothes had a similar colour scheme to Mirai's , but the outfit was made unique by the presence of a silver key on a chain around his neck . Reuben recalled that he had seemed hard and antisocial then , but now his eyes were alight with curiosity.

EIRIK MAEDA  
SDHSL: TRANSLATOR

Janus introduced himself briefly, and explained how he had only spent a few years in Japan , and so didn't have enough time to learn to read it –only to speak it.

"Oh. My name is Eirik Maeda." He pronounced the name like 'Eric' , and then Reuben noticed his eyes. One light green , one dark green.

_Heterochromic_! All of a sudden , he remembered the word. Two guys with heterochromic eyes. A bit weird ,that. Then again, the entire situation was weird.

"Good to meet you both , Isaki-san , Maeda-san." Janus said.

"Isaki , don't you speak?" the girl merely shook her head in response to Eirik's question. Then , she smiled , bowed and left them, presumably to introduce herself to other students .

"What is your first language then , Janus?" Eirik asked.

"Italian." Upon hearing that , Eirik launched into a stream of what Reuben assumed was Italian ,and Janus responded. Soon , they were having a full on conversation , but it wasn't followable as the video creator hadn't provided subtitles for that part.

The video then decided to show the other characters. Subtitles showed fragments of various conversations. A boy and a girl were sitting on the benches at the side, having a very mathematical- seeming conversation. Reuben actually had trouble keeping up, despite having Maths as one of his subjects.

ARISA ISHI  
SDHSL:MATHEMATICIAN

KEVIN BROWN  
SDHSL:CHEMIST

Arisa was the girl, with black eyes and long black hair. Her outfit was neatly coordinated -her hairband being red like her skirt, and her navy blazer matching her shoes. She was also very lively , instantly showing annoyance when Marvin came to flirt with Kevin , a socially awkward boy with sandy hair and a lab coat over his all black outfit.

"You interrupted out conversation! Find someone else to play with!"

Marvin giggled in a poor attempt at being sexy "Oh , I'm sorry. Kevin-kun doesn't mind though , do you ?"

'Kevin-kun' blushed and stammered something incoherent. Marvin was clinging to his arm as if she was drowning , and he looked as if his blood supply was being cut off. Reuben started to wonder what the story was with the '-kun' and '-san' that seemed to be attached to everyone's names , when an outraged cry from off screen interrupted his thoughts.

"Okay , which one of you guys thought it would be funny to steal from a thief? You know , Irony and all that? Huh?C'mon , fess up already!"

The owner wandered into focus , making wild gestures to emphasise his rage. He was lean , with blue hair and very bright blue eyes. His hoodie , cargo pants and t-shirt were all black.

AKIHITO WATARI  
SDHSL: THIEF

_Thief? Really?_ Reuben raised an eyebrow as he watched. Somehow he thought that title would be better suited as a warrant for arrest.

"What got stolen?" Janus asked.

"My cell phone! My poor, poor cell phone! " Akihito made a mock –swooning gesture .

"Well , the only cell phone I have is my …" Janus dug into the pockets of his black slacks , and then froze.

"Or not. "

"Your phone too?" all of a sudden , students all over the gymnasium were searching their own pockets. The only one who didn't search was Arisa , who muttered that she didn't have a phone in the first place, and Marvin , who apparently had left her cellphone in her luggage , since her very special outfit was pocket less.

Reuben was pretty sure someone would have retorted to that declaration had the mood not been so serious.

"So…this is how it is…" a girl stepped into focus. Reuben recalled her having been in various shots , a blurry character on the side-lines , watching everything , deep in thought. Her long , silvery-purple hair flowed like ribbons and was undone apart from a single plait tied with a black ribbon. She wore a purple-black leather jacket over a white shirt , red tie and burgundy looking skirt.

KYOUKO KIRIGIRI  
SDHSL: DETECTIVE

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear , revealing that she wore black gloves on her hands. Her expression barely changed , but her almond shaped eyes seemed troubled. She turned to where Naegi was standing.

"Naegi-kun, did you also wake up in a classroom after fainting?"

"Yes..."

"I thought so." Kyouko murmured, seeming to draw into herself. Another girl walked past her , also very introspective.

AKAYA KIYOMIZU  
SDHSL: PARAPSYCHOLOGIST 

Reuben raised an eyebrow. _She couldn't possibly be a high-schooler, _he thought, taking in her child like stature. Her blond hair was really long, causing Reuben to wonder if the school had a preference for long haired girls that year. Her outfit was casual, consisting of ripped jeans and a blue patterned white tank top, with grey trainers on her feet. The clothes contradicted her thoughtful expression as she approached a window. A window with steel plates affixed to it.

Akaya reached up and touched it, hesitantly. Whatever chatter had remained now stopped. They all stared at her. She turned and looked at them , unfazed.

"I guess we're trapped." She said .

Protests bubbled up everywhere. Nobody wanted to believe that this was the reason for the strange situation they were now in.

"We. We're really trapped?" a small , pale ,short haired girl in an umbrella-skirted school uniform trembled .

CHIHIRO FUJISAKI  
SDHSL: COMPUTER PROGRAMMER

To Reuben , it seemed as if Chihiro's fear radiated across the room as her eyes welled up.

"Ooh, don't cry!" Mirai appeared out of nowhere, patting Chihiro's head as though she was a kitten. "Don't cry…you're so adorable!" Mirai continued to pat Chihiro , who started to blush , and then giggle weakly.

"Wait ,so you mean I'm stuck here? With all you…you…you fishing-town people?!"

The girl who had spoken was slightly shorter than average in height. Her pale skin , blond hair and hazel eyes were all flawless , and her somewhat fancy outfit was completely white. Reuben raised an eyebrow. The girl was pretty , the type that Joseph would probably go bug eyed over , but the look on her face was pure poison.

NANAKO TAMURO  
SDHSL:ACTRESS

"F-fishing town people?" Makoto asked.

"None of your business, ordinary boy!" Reuben winced mentally , feeling sorry for Makoto.

"But you're the one that said it…" Janus retorted quietly. Nanako ignored him , and tried to walk away from everyone , heading to the door when she tripped over something large and blue. Reuben stifled a laugh as he watched one of her high heeled shoes fly off her foot and land in front of Suzu and Akaya, who had started a conversation of sorts.

The video then decided to focus on what Nanako had tripped over. Or rather , _who _she had tripped over- a boy with black hair and brown eyes , who looked fat in his blue jumpsuit …until Reuben spotted two microwaves and a beach ball poking out of the suit.

AFAR TOAR  
SDHSL: HOARDER

_Somehow , that explains both everything and nothing at the same time… _Reuben shook his head to clear it , and concentrated on what was on screen.

"Look what you made me do,retard!" Nanako got up , hopping around hysterically as she tried to find her other shoe.

Suzu approached Nanako with a smile , handing her the shoe. Nanako snatched it ,and put it on. Then she seemed to remember some manners , and thanked Suzu , who simply nodded in response , and walked back to Akaya.

Nanako seemed curious about Suzu's silence , and looked as if she was about to ask something when something hit the back of her head. Nanako turned , and glared at Afar , who simply mirrored her expression briefly ,before getting up off the floor and walking away.

Nanako made as if to yell at Afar before a voice cut in.

"Now , now. Arguing isn't going to help the situation any."

DAI YOSHIDA  
SDHSL: ANTRHOPOLOGIST

Dai was a short boy , wearing a beige suit , blue shirt and striped tie. He seemed to be one of the watchers , simply observing the situation , but now he was actively trying to calm down Nanako. His words were quiet , and therefore indecipherable , so Reuben was unable to understand what was going on for a while before Nanako suddenly beamed and said.

"You know what , I think you're right. Sorry, Toar." Afar merely nodded in response. Nanako then left Dai , and went to talk with someone else.

"What did he even throw?" Akihito asked.

Dai picked it up

"A slinky , I think. Yes , a slinky. Cool. I haven't played with one of these for a while ." Dai stretched it , an amused expression on his face.

"Erm, I hate to sound dim , but what's a slinky, exactly?" Janus asked from somewhere off screen.

Everyone stared at him, and the video focused momentarily on Janus before going back to Dai.

"Oh, it's a kid's toy, and it's basically like a spring. It can go down the stairs itself, apparently. Basic , but cool. "

"I hate to kill the happy conversation, but WE ARE TRAPPED! Remember? We're trapped in our new school , for no apparent reason! Why aren't we trying to get out of here?!" Arisa yelled , pacing up and down , her annoyance eventually being reduced to angry mutterings with each step she took.

"Onee-Chan didn't say anything about this…and I was looking forward to coming here as well…"

"We do remember. But panicking won't help." Kyouko said calmly.

"She's right."

KOSUKE KOBAYASHI  
SDHSL: DOCTOR

The boy who had spoken was tall and blond with pierced ears. He wore a navy jacket over a yellow t-shirt, denim jeans and navy converse shoes. That , combined with the fact he had braided bracelets on his right wrist and a ring on a necklace around his neck , didn't make him seem the doctor type , but Reuben had a feeling that this was the least of the surprises the series had in store.

"Then , what do we do?" Arisa fumed.

"E...Erm, maybe go over what we know , and decide what to do from there?" Chihiro piped up hesitantly.

"That sounds like a good idea ." Kyouko said briskly. "So , we all woke up in a classroom , by ourselves ."

"Actually, I woke up with Maeda-kun sitting ..or sleeping , rather , at the desk next to mine. " Akihito said. Eirik, who had gone back to standing by himself with an angry look a while ago, simply nodded to agree.

"And I woke up with Kiyomizu-san." The girl who had spoken was also blond , with the tips of her hair dyed a dirtier shade of the colour , grey eyed with a slight tan. The leggings under her yellow plaid skirt were torn , but this seemed to be a fashion statement rather than poverty. At least , Reuben hoped it was.

EMI KASURAGI  
SDHSL:BLOGGER

"Okay. So we were either alone or in pairs. That could mean something , but for now let's put that to the side." Kyouko said.

"Then , we all found a leaflet saying we were to meet here , and we all made our way here immediately…does that sound right , Kirigiri-san?" Akihito asked.

"Yes. " Kirigiri said no more , as if waiting for the others to start filling in.

"I was the last one to arrive…how long were you guys waiting?"

Suzu scribbled something in her notebook and held it up. There was a breakout of murmuring as people tried to figure out the answer , until Janus noticed Suzu.

"Isaki-san has something to say." His voice carried across the room , and they all turned.

"I was the first to arrive , and that was at about 6:55 this morning." Eirik read out , having decided to re-join the group, at least temporarily.

"We arrived ten minutes after that!" Emi said, adjusting the black glasses atop her head briefly.

The conversation continued in a similar way until they had concluded that it had taken just over an hour for their captor to get them to gather in the gymnasium.

"So , we've also confirmed there are steel plates on the windows and elaborate locks on the entrance doors. And our cell phones are gone too. What else is there?" Dai mused.

"Where's the rest of our luggage? We were supposed to leave it somewhere to be taken to our rooms, if I remember correctly ….but if we've been kidnapped, we should be wondering about it anyway. "Makoto spoke up suddenly.

Judging by the faces of everyone who was on screen at that moment, nobody had thought about that until Makoto had bought it up . Kyouko gave him a surprised look before nodding in what Reuben assumed was approval.

"How does this help us anyway? " Marvin wanted to know "Will it allow us to get out, Makoto-kun?" all of a sudden , Marvin was back to harassing Makoto.

"Erm…. "Once again , Reuben felt sympathy for Makoto. It must be hard being ordinary when around extraordinary people.

"We can at least predict what's coming next, right? As in, our captor is bound to turn up soon, since we've all gathered here. "Emi said.

"Is that actually a good thing?" Arisa wondered.

"It could be. We might be able to learn more about why we're here." A freckled, hazel eyed girl wearing a pale blue hoody with black cat ears spoke up, brushing blue- green bangs away from her right eye as she did so. Reuben noticed only the tips of her hair were this colour, the rest of it being black.

SHIKA SAYURI  
SDHSL: ANIMAL TRAINER

When everyone stared at her, she turned her face away, blushing.

And then the voice came.

"Testing , testing! Ah , whatever , I'm sure y'all heard that loud and clear anyways!" The voice was loud and squeaky , making everyone jump.

"W-what was that?" Chihiro asked

"That was me!" everyone turned to the stage at the opposite end of the gymnasium. Out of nowhere, a small half-white, half-black bear appeared. Everyone blinked. Arisa stopped pacing. Marvin didn't attempt to flirt. Even Mirai's ever typing fingers stilled for a moment as they all tried to take in what was happening.

"A stuffed toy?" Janus asked in amazement. _I was wondering the same thing _Reuben thought.

The bear took offence at this "I'm not a stuffed toy!" it complained , jumping up and down on the stage "I'm Monobear!"

The word was pronounced 'Monokuma', so Reuben assumed 'kuma' was the Japanese word for 'bear.'

Akihito squawked in surprise "THE STUFFED TOY JUST _TALKED_!"

"I already said , I'm not a stuffed toy , I'm Monobear! I'm your proud school principal!"

Shika snorted in derision , earning her a few glares.

"Really? I mean, bears are pretty clever, but I'm pretty sure they can't run a school!"

"Well, I….oi, you bastard , was that an insult or a compliment?" when Shika didn't respond , the bear shrugged.

"Never mind, let's get this show on the road….the stand and bow thing is a waste of time, so let's get on to the real fun stuff!"

"Fun stuff?" Makoto asked curiously

"Of course! Like , did you bastards know that you are trapped in this school? And you will be forever?"

A shockwave went around the room. Reuben supposed it was one thing to have a feeling about something and another to have it confirmed.

"Why?" Kyouko asked.

"Why , you ask? Why? Because I want to make you despair! Symbols of hope , despairing! Isn't that a lovely image?"

"No! It isn't. " Akaya stated simply.

"I don't care about images or whatever…just let us out!" Eirik grumbled.

"Oh? You want to leave? But you can't!" Monobear made a noise that vaguely resembled a chuckle.

"Why not?" Reuben couldn't tell who had said that.

"Because I said so! You bastards will spend the rest of your lives here. Unless…"

As expected , someone caught the last part of what the weird bear had just said.

"Unless what?" Kyouko demanded

"Unless one of you kills someone else…and gets away with it!"

"Kill….what do you mean?" Nanako asked.

"Ah , you know. Stab , strangle , drown , beat , poison , starve ,shoot , whatever! If one of you manages to kill another of you and gets away with it , that person will get to graduate!Upupupupu!" Monobear looked pleased with himself as he hopped off the stage and approached the students.

Then , unexpectedly , Monobear made a surprised noise. Mirai had snuck up behind the bear and had started patting its head.

"I can't believe you're real. You're saying annoying things but you look cool!" Mirai said simply , tickling Monobear , who giggled until he remembered himself.

"Well , now isn't the time for tickles , although I do enjoy a-HEY!"

Now Afar had come and picked up Monobear , regarding him with a curious expression. A disgruntled Mirai didn't bother to fight back , but instead went to stand with Chihiro. Everyone stared as Afar continued to consider the bear.

Reuben was starting to wonder what was going on when Afar grinned suddenly and proceeded to stuff Monobear in his jumpsuit.

Monobear went nuclear.

"Hey!HEYY! What are you doing? I'm your school principal !Acts of violence against staff members are strictly forbidden!"

And then an ominous beeping filled the room. Reuben winced at its loudness . This couldn't be anything good.

Kyouko echoed his thoughts

"This is bad!"

Afar looked at her oddly.

"Drop it!" she commanded.

"Why?"

"Just do it , quickly!"

Afar complied, puzzled. Monobear flew into the air , and then exploded in a ball of fire.

Everyone gasped or screamed in shock , crowding around (somewhat hesitantly) to see what had happened.

"Did…did the teddy bear die?" Chihiro asked worriedly.

"I'm not a stuffed toy! But thanks for your concern!"

Arisa gave a short surprised shriek as everyone looked towards the stage. Monobear was back , looking as if nothing had happened.

"What the…what the hell?" Akihito voiced what everyone was clearly thinking.

"Hehe. Toar-kun , I'll let you off with a warning , but next time , you will be severely punished. I hope the rest of you bastards heard that! Acts of violence against members of staff are strictly forbidden! If you forget , then the school rules are all in your ElectroIDs."

"ElectroIDs? What ElectroIDs?"

"Over there!" Monobear pointed a box that Reuben was pretty sure hadn't been there before. "Your names are engraved on them , so make sure not to take someone else's by accident. Anyway , byeeee!" Monobear jumped a few times and disappeared as suddenly as he had come.

Everyone just stood where they were for a moment , stunned and blinking . Then , they all rushed towards the box , and the video started to fade out, signalling the end. The words 'to be continued' appeared in a goofy font in the bottom right hand corner of the page before the video stopped.

Reuben sighed. He wasn't expecting that. Then again , he wasn't entirely sure what it was he had been expecting. Deciding it was too late to watch the other videos , he shut down the computer and went to bed , his mind filled with the faces of the exceptional students and one very odd bear.

.

**I mentioned last chapter that some of the future chapters will be a bit unconventional-I'll be explaining that here. Firstly , the chapters that are relating to events between murders(up until point of body discovery) will be told as-it-happens , so to speak , and chapters pertaining to investigations and trials will be told from the view of Reuben watching the videos of them , like this chapter. During these chapters , there will be references made as to which of the events that led up to the murder are ones Reuben witnessed. There will also be chapters titled 'Evidence Collection 1' , 'Evidence Collection 2' etc. These will contain bits of narrative from viewpoints you wouldn't see in the rest of the story , and extracts from fictional newspapers , letters , emails and anything else I can think of. These will all , in one way or another , help to figure out the overall mystery of the story(as in who the culprit is , the motive for setting up the Mutual Life of High School Killing etc. etc.) , and will appear randomly . Anyway , I just decided to tell you all that so won't get confused. **

**Please leave feedback!**


	4. Sinking In

**Quick reminder. As this isn't an investigation or trial ,this chapter will be told 'as it happens' rather than through the viewpoint of Reuben watching on video.**

Makoto switched on the ElectroID as soon as he got it , and the screen instantly showed signs of life. The first thing it displayed was his profile-name, age, weight, height, blood type, SDHSL talent .There was also a picture of him next to all this information. But after a few more clicks, he discovered that wasn't the only thing on the ElectroID.

"Looks like there's a map here…and could this be the school rules? Only , I can't read what they say." Kevin said.

"They're all in Kanji , I can't read them either." Janus added.

"Allow me." Eirik said curtly.

Momentarily distracted from their own ElectroIDs , they all watched Eirik expectantly as he read out the rules.

"1: The students will live out a communal lifestyle under this roof for an unlimited amount of time.  
2A: In order to graduate from this school, a student would have to commit a murder and remain undetected.  
2B: In order to determine whether the murderous student will graduate , a trial will be held to see if it can be discovered who the culprit is.  
3: There are no special restrictions on your actions. Feel free to explore.  
4: The time between 10pm and 7am is the designated 'Night Time'. During this time , certain areas are inaccessible , including the canteen. Please be careful.  
5:Acts of violence against your principal are strictly forbidden, and will be punished accordingly.  
6: Sleeping in any other place apart from the permitted dormitory areas is forbidden , and will be punished accordingly.  
7: Destroying surveillance cameras is also forbidden., and will also be punished accordingly.  
8: New rules may be added at any time. Enjoy your new life!"

The room fell back into silence when he finished.

"That's a lot of forbidden things." Shika said eventually.

"_Enjoy your new life_…that's an odd thing to say." Naegi remarked.

"What does he mean by 'a trial'?" Arisa asked, confused.

"Presumably that would mean we would have to see if we could discover who was responsible if a murder was indeed committed. " Kyouko said simply.

For some reason, that didn't make anything seem any clearer , and everyone still looked a little dazed.

Suzu wrote in her notebook and held it up

_I hope that we won't need to do that. _She had written.

Akaya read Suzu's comment out for the sake of Janus and Kevin , and a murmur of agreement went around the room.

Kyouko started to leave the room quietly , until Makoto called her.

"Kirigiri-san , where are you going?"

The girl stopped , and turned.

"To investigate."

"Perhaps we should do so too." Dai suggested. "Perhaps we can understand more about our situation, and perhaps even the mind-set of the person responsible. "

"Finding new things?" Afar asked, eyes shining.

"That too , possibly." Dai said neutrally.

Kyouko had been watching them with an expression that seemed to resemble interest and then said.

"So how about we all investigate , and then report back somewhere to share what we discover?"

"Sounds good to me." Akihito said. "What about in the canteen?"

Once everyone had agreed , they all left the Gymnasium to try and find out what they could.

**…**

Janus approached the door of his room, and looked at it. Affixed to the door was a name plate , with his surname written on it , and a funny chibi-like icon that he assumed was supposed to be him (although personally he couldn't see the resemblance. ) He wondered how he was supposed to get in, when an instinct made him feel in his pocket, the same one his eyepatch was in.

When he pulled out a key, he went cold for reasons he couldn't name. And when the key fitted perfectly into the lock, he felt fear. But he supressed it and went in.

The room was relatively large, and fairly plain with a standard bed, smallish table ,chair and cupboard with drawers. He did, however, like the red wallpaper. Whoever had decorated the room had good taste. He spotted his suitcase leaning against his bedside table.

_Naegi-san's concerns were thankfully unfounded then _ he thought as he unpacked to see if everything was there. Once the contents were strewn across his bed, he was able to determine that the only things missing were his emergency cell phone and his iPad. Meaning that he had no way of contacting Nonno.

To distract himself from the thoughts that were beginning to plague him, he set about putting everything in an appropriate place, making sure that the photograph of Nonno and the photograph of his parents were on top of bedside table, and his glass eye collection in the , he flopped onto his bed, thinking of everything that had happened. He had come here to enjoy a new school life with others who were as talented as he was , albeit in different fields. How did he end up being kidnapped by a bear who wanted them to kill them all?

He sat up and shook his head. He wasn't going to get answers by moping. Perhaps he could find Maeda-san or Isaki-san and continue investigating with them.

**…**

_Thank goodness there aren't any bugs _Akihito thought as he came out of the recreation room and headed to the canteen. Then, he gave a short, bitter laugh. He was trapped in some random murder mystery and he was worried about the presence of creepy-crawlies? Really? He seriously needed to get his priorities straight. Although bugs would just make things worse. He continued to walk until he spotted two girls come out of one of the classrooms-Akaya Kiyomizu and Suzu Isaki , two of the quieter( and cuter) girls. They were chatting to each other. Or rather , Akaya was the one talking , whereas Suzu just wrote in her notebook to reply.

"Hey , Kiyomizu-san , Isaki-san !You heading to the canteen too?" The two girls stopped and turned. Suzu nodded , and the girls stopped so he could catch up with them. Once he did , they continued walking.

"Did you find much?" he asked.

"Not really. But I guess when we contribute our findings others may be able to put meaning to them." Akaya replied.

"Yeah , yeah . I'm sure you're right. Anyway , you two have gotten very tight very quickly. " Akihito grinned cheekily.

Suzu scribbled in her notebook.

_We've just discovered that Akaya-Chan and I went to the same Preschool and Elementary school. Until she moved away in third grade. _

"So! You remember that far back? "

"Yeah…" Akaya said pointedly.

"Ah , I forget . You're famed for your memory, amongst other things." Akihito attempted to link arms with Akaya, who stepped neatly out of the way and lightly swatted him on the back of the head. The two looked at each other briefly before laughing. Suzu joined in, giggling silently as they all went to the canteen.

**…**

The rest of the students drifted in slowly, the expressions on their faces ranging from boredom to fear. They all assembled around the largest table, and once they did , they looked expectantly at Kirigiri. For some reason, they had all started to look to her as an authority they could trust, whether they cared to admit it or not.

"We should start with the bedrooms. Anything useful?"

"The beds are comfy. " Afar said randomly. He shuffled restlessly in his seat before going still again . A few pencils , a paper plate and three stripy socks fell out of his jumpsuit.

"Our luggage was bought into the rooms , but anything that would allow us to communicate with the outside world have been taken . " Janus offered. "Also , we seem to have been given tool kits. I don't know about the rest of you. "

"My room had a sewing kit. I don't even sew!" Nanako said.

"Murder weapons." Kosuke said suddenly. When everyone looked at him , he remained neutral. "The bear did say he wanted us to kill each other. He's trying to make it easier. "

Arisa made an noise of annoyance "Good luck with that! I am not killing anyone!"

"You never know." Dai said "People do things they never normally would under stress. And this is a stressful situation."

Arisa narrowed her eyes. " . .Anyone. At all. Okay?"

"Perhaps we should move on. " Kyouko commented. "Anyone else find anything?"

"The recreation room is cool! There's a pool table, chess , poker…oh ,and some magazines and weird Monobear statue thingies. That bear sure loves itself. "Akihito said "Oh , and the girls were poking around the classrooms, they might have found something. "

"The… girls?" Kevin asked haltingly.

"Suzu-Chan and I." Akaya clarified.

"Okay, so anything helpful?" Naegi asked.

"No. The classrooms look like standard ones in any high school-save for all the steel plated windows. "

Suzu scribbled in her notebook and held it up.

_The blackboards all had things written on them. Random things. One of the boards said 'Don't wake the baby!'…_

"Yeah , and another blackboard was one with lots of different scribbles –I recognised the word 'welcome' , but…"Akaya continued

"I saw that board." Eirik interrupted suddenly "It wa basically saying 'welcome ' in many different languages-Japanese , English , French, Italian , Spanish , Mandarin , Cantonese , Tamil , Hindi , Arabic ,Welsh , Gaelic , German , Hieroglyphics…" there was a lively look in Eirik's eyes as he trailed off.

"HIEROGLYPHICS?!" about five other people echoed in confused unison.

"Basically , nothing useful." Akaya summarised

"I-I was with Sakamoto-san , and we investigated supplies , and there's a storage room with spare c-clothes and books and other random things we might need. Except for communication devices or computers. And the kitchen has lots of food-Monobear said that it gets restocked every day so there's nothing to worry about. " Chihiro piped up.

"Whoa , wait , Monobear?!" Shika asked.

Chihiro nodded."Yeah. He popped up out of nowhere as I was looking in the fridge. "

"That is_ not_ a consoling thought. " Eirik muttered.

"So we have no internet? At all?" Emi asked.

"Gee, d' you think?" Arisa said sarcastically.

"Oh wonderful!" Emi responded with equal sarcasm , looking as if she was going into a sulk.

Dai seemed to decide to try to move on the conversation. "I found stairs to another floor. But , the access is restricted. I guess we can conclude that the bear is at least serious about keeping us here in the long term. "

Unfortunately, his words got almost drowned as a result of Nanako causing a scene.

"Wasn't that eye gold this morning?" she shrieked as she pointed at Janus with a look of horror. His right eye , which had indeed been yellow gold , was now dark brown.

"I think it was. " Kevin said in confusion.

"Why is it brown now then? " Nanako demanded.

Everyone stared at Janus, who looked at them all calmly. He didn't offer to clarify anything. Instead, he seemed faintly surprised.

"It's a glass eye." Eirik said after a moment of silence. He pointed to Suzu's notebook, where she had written those exact words, by way of explanation. Suzu nodded as if confirming what she had written.

"Ooh, a glass eye. How mysterious. "Marvin approached Janus and leaned against his chair in such a way that she was almost pressed against him. She traced around the glass eye in a motion that would seem tender if it wasn't for the lusty look on her face.

"Dude, that's called an invasion of personal space. And he isn't even interested in you! Back off!" Emi said irritably.

Marvin ignored her.

"Are those scars? Mysteriouser and mysteriouser- do you cover them? What happened? Perhaps you can tell me tonight. "

Janus stiffened. The atmosphere in the room instantly got colder. Marvin remained oblivious.

"I am sure 'mysteriouser' isn't a word. Right?" Shika commented randomly in an attempt to diffuse the mood. Everyone ignored her as they watched the scene. Kirigiri rolled her eyes, looked as if she was considering saying something, but instead decided to see what would happen before taking action.

"Oh? You aren't saying anything? I've kept many secrets you know. "Marvin continued to pester Janus, who would have seemed calm if it wasn't for the visible tension that was around him.

"Get away from me. "

He said it calmly, as if he wasn't angry. In a single motion, he got up from his chair, sidestepped to get away from Marvin, and walked out of the canteen.

Marvin blinked.

"Aren't you supposed to be some kind of charmer?" Akihito asked pointedly. Marvin didn't look at him.

Suzu wrote something in her notebook. Her face was stony.

_You went too far._

"She's right. That was repulsive. "Eirik said simply. Marvin didn't respond as she went back to sit down. Her expression was unreadable.

Akaya stood up.

"Does anyone want anything to eat?" she asked quietly.

A few people nodded, and some said 'yes please'. Akaya smiled softly.

"Okay. Suzu-Chan, come help me?"

Suzu nodded and got up. Chihiro offered to help too, and as a result , Mirai wanted to too. As the four girls headed to the kitchen, Suzu looked back to the seat Janus had been sitting in, before shaking her head slightly and following the other three.

**…**

Janus paced, and paced as compensation for not showing how he felt back in the canteen. His scars pulsed and burned, with the pain of when he was 6 years old.

_I can't lose it. Not here, not now. I have to get back to Nonno._

Then came a knock at the door.

Janus had a moment of pure panic before he took a few breaths to compose himself , carefully arranging his expression so that it was friendly , or at least neutral . Then , he unlocked the door.

There was nobody there.

There was , however , a tray of food on the floor. Curiously , he picked it up and took it inside , quickly setting it on the table before locking the door again. Then , he sat to inspect the food.

There was a sandwich on a plate-meatballs and cheese. The meatballs weren't made from scratch , but they smelt good enough. There was also a carton of orange juice. Briefly , he considered the possibility that the food might be poisoned , but his rumbling stomach overruled that , and he took a bite of the sandwich. Which was when he noticed the folded papers hidden under the plate.

Taking them out , he attempted to read them . The notes were written in an odd mixture of English and Japanese , but from the English words he was able to deduce that after he had left , the group had decided to create two additional rules of their own. The first was that during the designated 'Night Time' they weren't allowed to leave their rooms. The second was that they would all meet in the canteen every day for breakfast and supper to confirm their safety. The final note was a simple apology . The person had written their name in the Kanji form , so Janus wouldn't' have been able to understand it if it wasn't for the fact he had seen those letters before.

He looked at the time. It was just approaching 9pm , which caused him to wonder just how fast time had gone. Then , he quickly consumed his meal . He wondered whether it was worth taking the tray back to the kitchen , but didn't really feel like encountering anyone else. So he took the notes , folded them back up , and held them as he set off.

He scanned the nameplates intently until he found what he was looking for. Then , he knocked at the door. It opened a crack , the chain still attached. A hazel eye stared out cautiously.

"Isaki-san…"Janus said "Can I talk to you?"

…

Night Time approached , and an announcement made by Monobear to signal this blared through the school. Almost automatically, everyone retired to their rooms.

Some of them were able to go to bed and fall asleep quickly , tortured by dreams. Others lay awake in bed , wondering what would happen next. Some read , or listened to music to distract themselves. A few decided to sneak out later , falling into old patterns as a means of comfort .

But all of them hoped to still be awake the next morning.


	5. Evidence Collection 1

**Here is the first 'evidence collection' chapter I was talking about. If you have forgotten about these chapters and what they are for, refer back to the author's note at the end of 'Meet the Cast'.**

**I know this one isn't very varied, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Next chapter will be a 'normal' chapter. **

_Extract from The Saturday Gazette, December 1998 Edition, page 5:_

…Two days ago, the principal of Morning Glory Private Academy in Precinct 52, Kiyoshi Nakamura, announced that his school would be closing with the arrival of the New Year, after many generations of teaching the children of some of the richest people in the country. The announcement comes in response to the outcry following the horrific incident of three months ago, which resulted in the death of 8 year old….

**…**

"Hehe, this is going well. Now, I guess I leave things up to their despair. "

She leaned back in her chair, watching the screens in interest. The phone by her side vibrated, and she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"How is it going?" the familiar voice made her heart feel calm. She smiled.

"It is doing well. I am glad we were able to finish preparations in time for this year. The new intakes are…an interesting bunch. It won't take long for the killing to begin. They will make all of this worth it. No revenge will have ever been sweeter."

"That is good to hear. When are you going to send me the next few videos for the site?"

"Already done! Check your emails. "

There was an awkward silence. She half sung, half hummed a little song.

_Ame rirara nami mo rirara yureterara rirarira to ame_

_Nami wa rirara kono yoki hi ni nara sayonara rirarira to_

"Shall I bring you dinner? You must be hungry." The voice at the other end said eventually.

"That would be great. You know where to leave it, yes? Be careful, don't get seen."

"I know, I know….Anyway, we'll talk later, okay? Be careful yourself. "

"Sure thing, bro." she hung up, and looked up at the screen again. She could not stop grinning.

Life really was going her way for once.

…

_A letter sent from Hope's Peak Academy, March 19__th__ 2014:_

Dear Parents/Carers,

You may notice this letter is handwritten rather than typed. This is because the networks for the entire school systems are down, and as a result, our communication systems are also down. The reason I am telling you this is because I know that you may be worried about the welfare of your child if he/she isn't keeping in touch with you. I want to assure you that everything else is as it should be and the technically adept amongst our students are working with our staff to fix the problem as quickly as possible.  
In the meantime, we are encouraging the students to start using handwritten letters as a means of keeping in touch, and I implore you to not worry. If you have any more queries, please do write to me, and I will do my best to assist.  
Yours Sincerely,  
Jin Kirigiri (Principal of Hope's Peak Academy)

…

_A To-Do list found in a bin outside the gates of a park 5 miles from Hope's Peak Academy (The first, third, fourth and final items on the list were ticked):_

-Start making 'the plushie'.

-Make sure 'gift box' is ready.

-Go over the plans so that I know them off by heart (do this as many times as possible ^^)

-Pack bag ready for the 'big day'.

-Buy Kevlar vest.

-Be sure that Principal Kirigiri knows I am here on a 'visit' (he'll never be able to resist a visit from one of his first students).

-Pick out the perfect outfit.

-Ensure there will be an endless coffee supply. (Or else more people will die than necessary.)

**The song used in this chapter is by Shibayan Records-it's called 'Ame wa rirarira'. If anyone was wondering. I don't own the song. **

**Please leave feedback ^^**


	6. Pilot: part 1

The next morning, Janus, Suzu and Shika were the first people to arrive at the canteen. After acknowledging each other with a brief greeting, they went to get their breakfasts, and sat down-Suzu and Janus together at one table, Shika by herself on another. They waited; tense, for the others to turn up.

Akihito walked in casually. Upon seeing the three who were already there, his eyes lit up.

"Wa-hey!" he said, lifting his arms in a celebratory pose "So you guys are still alive. " Shika stuck her tongue out at him in response, and he grinned, going over to the vending machine.

"We have no money. How are-" Janus's sentence cut itself off in astonishment as Akihito left the vending machine a few seconds later with a cereal bar and a bottle of chocolate milkshake.

"I'm the SDHSL thief, remember? This is child's play."

Suzu rolled her eyes .Akihito gave another cheeky grin and sat down with Shika.

"Mind if I keep you company, Sayuri-san?"

"I…erm. Feel free to sit here."

Akihito did, and they sat there eating their breakfast in silence.

The others started to come in. Eirik was listening to music on a small iPod, one earphone hanging so that unidentifiable rock music could be heard. Marvin came in while harassing Kevin. Mirai somehow managed to sneak in without anyone noticing, suddenly appearing behind Suzu and making her jump. The others just entered relatively normally, saying good morning to everyone else and getting their breakfasts.

When they had all sat down at various tables, it was soon clear that all 18 of them were there. Instantly, the atmosphere changed.

"So, what are we supposed to do today?" Emi asked. She was still grumpy about the lack of internet, but thankfully she seemed approachable.

"I'm going to continue investigating, see if I can turn up something that was missed yesterday." Kyouko said.

"Where does that leave the rest of us?"

"I guess we just go about our lives, find a way to ki-pass the time." Shika suggested.

"Hmm." Kyouko said in response.

Suzu wrote something in her notebook, and Janus called attention to it. Eirik got up from where he was sitting alone, and went close enough to be able to see it.

"Until we can escape, we need to accept we are stuck here." He read.

"Eh? Accept it? Why?" Arisa said.

"Because railing against it won't help the situation." Kyouko said.

"You agree with her?" Arisa almost shrieked.

Janus spoke up "Suzu _does_ talk sense."

"Except that she doesn't talk." Arisa countered.

Emi let out a long breath "Dude…" she paused, then continued "Just do whatever you want. "

Arisa rolled her eyes in annoyance, and didn't say anything more.

"Hold on! Since when were you two on first name terms?" Nanako pointed to Janus and Suzu, a questioning look on her carefully made-up face. Suzu looked confused. Janus gave nothing away.

"You two must have gotten _awfully close_ last night…care to share?" Marvin asked.

"Karin-san, I don't think that you should be asking anything, not after yesterday. Besides, it's none of our business."Dai put Janus and Suzu he said "Sorry about that."

Janus nodded.

"Nothing to hide. Suzu just decided to fill me in on the rules you'd decided after I left…and we talked a while." He said.

_That's right. _Suzu wrote. She glanced subtly at Janus, and he looked back at her for a moment, and then they both concentrated on their breakfasts.

After a while, everyone else returned to their own conversations and breakfasts.

…

Nothing. There was nothing useful. Kyouko had searched this floor, looked in every last corner for a clue. But there was nothing. She might have found more if they had been allowed up to the second floor, but access was blocked. So, there was nothing. Not even of-of what? There was something in her mind, a something that was more of an absence than an actual item, something that seemed to drive all she was doing, but she couldn't remember what it could be. It was if the part of her mind that held those memories had been wiped clean.

Other, foggier memories filled her mind. Piano music, her little-kid fingers being guided by elegant older fingers. The smell of vanilla and sandalwood. The taste of birthday cake. Cherry blossoms spinning around her. The sensation of flying, as she was picked up by two strong hands. Childhood laughter.

It was the laughter that stuck with her, and when it continued to ring in her head she eventually realised that she was _actually_ hearing laughter.

_Focus. Where am I?_

Outside the gymnasium. Cautiously, she opened the door. The laughter fell silent.

Akaya, Akihito and Makoto were standing in the middle of the gymnasium. All 3 were barefooted. Akihito had taken off his hoodie, and Makoto had taken off his blazer. Akaya was holding on to a basketball. All looked happy, but slightly rumpled.

Kyouko had the feeling that it was a stupid question, but she had to ask "What are you doing?"

"Playing basketball. Duh!" Akihito said.

"It's not like an actual game or anything. More like messing around in a way that vaguely resembles basketball." Makoto explained.

"If that makes sense. " Akaya added.

Kyouko pursed her lips, deep in thought. Then she nodded.

"Hey…do you want to join us? You look a bit lost."

Kyouko blinked in confusion at what Makoto was asking.

"I don't really know how to play-apart from a few odd Elementary school memories. "She said hesitantly.

"That's fine. We're all the same. We're just having a bit of fun, to keep our spirits up. "Makoto replied cheerfully.

"Better than moping!" Akihito chipped in

_Keep our spirits up. _Just by being in the company of these three, she was feeling that happen. It couldn't hurt to actually join them.

"Okay." She took off her boots, socks, jacket and tie, and stashed them on the side with the other shoes and outer layers, and lost herself in the game for a while.

…

Shika was bored. Really bored. Why weren't there any animals here? She briefly wished she could have taken Sora with her, but then decided that she was glad that she hadn't. Monobear would've probably eaten him. Even though she knew bears didn't eat dogs. Generally.

She decided to go into the kitchen and search out a snack, but she was so absorbed in her mission she almost tripped over someone. Giving a start, she straightened out and looked at who that person was.

"Oh! Isaki-san, what are you doing?"

Suzu turned from where she was sitting in front of the open freezer, a chisel in hand. Shika slowly approached the freezer. The particular section Suzu had opened was larger than it looked, and there were large blocks of ice inside. Suzu had been chipping away at one, but Shika couldn't tell what it was yet.

"Cool! You're making something. I can't wait to see what it is. Don't mind me. I'm just getting some food. "

Shika went to a cupboard when something occurred to her.

"Aren't you cold, Isaki-san?"

Suzu smiled faintly and shook her head. Shika mentally kicked herself.

"Of course you aren't. You're used to it, aren't you?" _Stop talking, Shika…_

After locating a packet of rice crackers, Shika sat next to Suzu to watch her work. Suzu shifted slightly to allow Shika to have space, but apart from that seemed utterly absorbed in her work. They sat like that for a while, deep in silence, until Suzu reached in and pulled the finished product from the freezer.

Smiling, she shook it. A ringing sound resounded for a small moment.

"Whoa! A bell! And it works!" Shika was slack jawed in amazement.

Suzu smiled and blushed.

"There's an idea. If you had some bell to ring every time you were writing in that book of yours, everyone would be able to hear you. Except, find an actual bell. That one would melt. "

Suzu smiled again, and put the ice bell in the freezer, shutting it and standing up. Shika stood up as Suzu wrote in her notebook. Then, she showed the page to

_That's a great idea._ It read. _I'll see if Jay'll help me. Perhaps you can come too, if you like?_

"Who's Jay?"

_Janus Abandonato. _ Suzu replied.

"Oh." Shika noticed something in Suzu's eyes as she had written that name. She couldn't be sure, but growing up in a house full of females had helped her understand a thing or two. But she decided not to call attention to it. Yet.

"Nah, its fine. You go. I'm still hungry, so I'll probably be raiding the kitchen for a while."

Suzu nodded, and left the room. Shika threw away her empty wrapper and grinned as she searched the cupboards.

…

Janus and Suzu had been searching in the storage room for a long time when Marvin came in, looking harassed and somewhat rejected. She paid them no heed as she instantly started searching for something. Janus raised an eyebrow.

"Would've thought she would have been trying to harass someone. "He mouthed.

Suzu wrote in her notebook in response.

_Perhaps she has other interests too. _This was written in broken English.

"Now that would be a miracle."

"Perfect!" the two of them turned in surprise as Marvin started reaching into a box and pulling things out rapidly and stuffing them into a sack. Some of the items clinked as she put them in. Then, she pulled out two small bits of material. After considering the materials, she put them down, and started to strip off her clothes.

Janus hid behind the box, face steaming red. He didn't want to see any more of Marvin than he had to. Suzu gave him a look as if to ask what was wrong. He didn't respond, instead deciding not to move until he heard clinking again. They both peered around the box. Marvin was leaving the storage room, now wearing little more than a hot pink bikini top and a mini skirt that could have been mistaken for a handkerchief.

_And off she goes to terrorize the male population. _Suzu wrote. Janus had to take a while to decode what she had tried to write.

"Yes. I still can't possibly see how anyone is interested in that…wanton girl. "

Suzu's mouth twitched. She got up and started searching the shelves. Janus helped her, and he didn't talk to her for a few minutes, until his hands felt something.

Pulling down a small bell with a glass handle, he handed to her.

"What about this?"

Suzu tested the sound. It was a pretty, twinkly sound. Most importantly, it was clear and unmistakeable. Suzu smiled and nodded.

"Great!"

Suzu's smile eventually faded, and she fell deep into thought.

"Suzu?"

She wrote something carefully and handed the notebook to him.

Carefully, he interpreted her words.

"Alcohol….Karin-san? Are you surprised though? She'd do anything to get laid."

Suzu took back the notebook and wrote in it again.

_Go too far with alcohol and the consequences are forever._

"I…uh. You said 'the consequences are forever?'"

Suzu nodded.

"But, you realise nobody will actually go near her to get drunk in the first place?"

_She mocks Kobayashi-kun's health concerns as innuendo. Watari-kun would just flirt right back. He wouldn't let her actually touch him, but he'd play her at her own game for a while. And Kevin Brown is one of the more impressionable ones, unaware of his own feelings. _

Janus looked at her. She seemed fearful.

"You're actually pretty observant, aren't you?"

She blinked,baffled.

"Your eyes are windows, Suzu. " he told her.

She bit her lip and looked down. Janus felt a wave of guilt sweep over him.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. As long as she doesn't approach me. She'll feel the heat of Hades if she does. Anyway, let's go. It's a bit stuffy in here. "

…

That evening, all 18 of them arrived for dinner. Eirik, who had gradually begun to warm up to people , volunteered to make dinner, which turned out to be some sort of casserole with bread on the side.  
Again, they either sat in little groups, or alone as they ate their food. Afar went around giving some people items he had collected-a jewellery hanger shaped as a sakura tree for Kyouko, a rainbow coloured pencil topper for Makoto, cell phone stickers for Suzu , a top hat for Janus , a ring for Akihito ,and other various items. Some things he threw at Nanako and an apparently tipsy Marvin, but apart from that, there was very little drama.

They were all relieved when they went to bed. At the back of their minds, the possibilities of their deaths were still strong, but they were able to fall asleep peacefully.

…

Arisa had woken up in the middle of the night with an extreme craving for chocolate. She really didn't want to break their Night Time rule, but she was going mad. Searching her bags for some only turned up a few stray chocolate drops, which wasn't nearly enough. So she decided to get dressed and wait until it became 7am. Then she could be the first in the kitchen, and make herself a very chocolaty breakfast.

She passed the time working on mathematical proofs and reading one of the books Onee-Chan had packed for her .Finally, Monobear's inane morning announcement blared out, and she practically exploded from her chair. Once she had left the room she was considerably calmer, but she was still walking rapidly.

This is why she almost tripped over something on the floor.

She fell with a heavy crash, putting her arms out to protect her face. Stunned, she just lay there for a few seconds, and then she eased herself into a sitting position so she could see what she had tripped over.

A person.

"Hey, what are you doing asleep?" she reached over to poke him on the cheek. He was cold. So very, very cold.

It was then she clocked other details. Not just that he was cold, but the fact that his eye were wide, their greyness staring into nothing, and that his skin was paler than it had ever been. That and the long trail of blood that extended out behind and alongside him. The trail of blood she was now sitting in.

She knew that she should get help, knock on people's doors. But as she tried to stand up, her legs kept shaking and she kept falling. Over, and over this happened, until the terror overtook her, and all she could do was scream.

**And so, I leave you with a cliffhanger-can you guess who died? Even if you can't, you'll find out next chapter anyway. In case you are wondering about the chapter title, a lot of TV shows tend to treat their first episode as a 'Pilot' episode, even titling it as such. And this is the first murder so…**

**Anyway, please leave feedback. **


	7. Pilot: part 2

**Quick Reminder: As this is an investigation chapter, it will be from Reuben's POV.**

**I'm not sure whether the trial will end up beginning next chapter or this chapter, as I need to include some development around Reuben too, but let's just see what happens.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter. **

Reuben had paused the video on a shot of Mirai groggily coming out of her room wearing a panda onesie when he was called to dinner , and now , after making sure his school bag was ready , he decided to watch a little bit more.

It had been 5 days since he had first started watching the series, and he was now on the 6th video out of the 17 that were now on the site, juggling watching them with the demands of revising for the rapidly approaching AS exams and helping out at the Bird House. It seemed that the maker uploaded between 3-5 every few days. The video he had started watching that day had begun with Arisa leaving her room almost as soon as it was morning, only to trip over the dead body of Kevin Brown. Now, he opened the video and found the part he had stopped at.

Mirai rubbed her eyes and said

"What's going on?"

"Brown-kun died." Makoto told her, pointing to the body. Mirai ambled over. She looked curious, but not shocked, to Reuben's thinking.

Arisa was still sitting on the floor, silent and ashen. Kosuke approached her, and scrutinised her carefully.

"She's in shock." He eventually declared. "Somebody needs to get her away from his body. And get her spare clothes. Whose room is furthest away?"

"Mine is." Nanako offered reluctantly.

"Good." Nanako seemed about to protest at Kosuke's response, but then thought better of it.

"Come, Ishi." Nanako walked over to Arisa and extended a hand to help her up, careful not to touch the blood. Then, they walked away.

The others seemed clueless for a moment.

"So, what happens now?" Shika asked.

As if to answer her, a clanging noise made them all jump. Even Reuben startled. Then, Monobear's grating voice hurt his ears.

"Attention! Attention! A body has just been discovered! After a brief period of free time, a trial will commence!"

"What…are we supposed to do?" Chihiro asked.

"I believe we need to investigate. " Kyouko was already kneeling next to the body. "Kobayashi-kun, do you think I can get help from you?"

"My speciality is the living rather than the dead, but I will assist you. "

"Hey! Something has been added to our ElectroID's…Monobear files 1…"Akihito trailed off, holding up his ElectroID

Kyouko watched him with a look that Reuben interpreted as interest.

"What does it say?"

Akihito started to read it, but Eirik interrupted to continue the reading out. Probably the translator instincts taking over.

"There's basically his name, SDHSL talent, cause of death…blunt force trauma to the head, whatever that means. And time of death was 1 in the morning. Location of death was his room. That's it really. "

"That's useful information. " Dai said "it's helpful for those of us who don't know the ins and outs of investigative work. Perhaps the rest of us should split up and investigate elsewhere?"

"That would be good." Kyouko barely looked at Dai as she acknowledged him, so absorbed she was. It reminded Reuben of the scene he had watched of Suzu making an ice bell.

The scene changed to show Makoto and the others nearby him-Janus, Suzu, Akaya and Shika.

"That blood stain is going from his room, which would make sense if he died there." Naegi followed it with his finger, pointing at Kevin's door.

"I'll help you. "Akaya said.

"In which case we'll go elsewhere." Shika said. Almost as soon as the other three had left, the scene focused on Kevin's room. There were textbooks on the table, and the room looked very impersonal, almost the same way it had looked when the students had first arrived. Apart from one thing.

"Those stains on the bedside table…they were left by a glass of some sort…but I don't see anything that could have done that." Akaya said.

"Odd. I wonder what that's about." Makoto mused as he looked for anything that could be useful.

"Nothing seems out of order…" he murmured.

Reuben wasn't entirely sure how a murder investigation should go, but from watching American crime dramas with both his father and Megan, he was pretty sure it wasn't meant to be like this.

"Kiyomizu-san, what do you see?" Makoto asked suddenly.

"A spotless room, nothing out of .I see what you mean."

"Exactly. The room is spotless. Any trace of Brown-kun swept away. But why? It's normal for his hair and whatever to be in here. It is his room after all."

"But it wouldn't be normal for someone else's to be. " Akaya pointed out.

"Oh. Of course. "

Just then, a ping came from where Reuben had opened another tab for his Instant Messaging. He paused the video, and checked it.

lowercasecoolgirl: HI!

Reuben grinned. The person who had sent the message was his friend and former foster sister, Arielle Khan. He typed a message back.

RGOODRICH34: Right back at ya : )

He went back to the video and played it. The scene instantly changed to that of Kyouko and Kosuke investigating the body. It seemed they had established that Kevin's injuries were consistent with being whacked on the back of the head. Now they needed to know why the blood was all over his body, and why there was so much of it.

Arielle messaged him back.

lowercasecoolgirl: What are you doing?

RGOODRICH34: Watching a show where a teddy bear has kidnapped a bunch of genius kids to force them to all murder each other. You?

lowercasecoolgirl: Of course.

lowercasecoolgirl: …DON'T send me the link yet. I am drowning in ICT coursework.

Reuben smiled at that. He was about to type something, but then couldn't think of anything to say, so he went back to the video, which he had forgotten to pause. Luckily, the scene hadn't changed.

"Look." Kyouko had spotted something. "That isn't blood. There." Kousuke leaned into see what she was talking about. For a moment, the screen was zoomed in to the part of Kevin's face where Kyouko was pointing. There was indeed a red stain of a different quality, and a slightly different shade to blood. The blood seemed to have been painted over it, as if trying to hide it.

"Yet it is red." Kyouko pursed her lips in an expression Reuben was getting used to. It meant she was deep in thought. Then, she leaned in and sniffed at the unusual stain.

"Makeup."

Kosuke did a double take.

"You can tell?"

"Yes." She responded simply.

Kosuke looked amazed.

"But why would a guy wear makeup?"

"That is a good question…" Kyouko's voice trailed off, and the next change in scene was timed perfectly to occur at the end of her sentence.

It simply showed Mirai searching every nook and cranny in the corridor leading up to the storage room. Reuben wasn't sure, but it didn't seem like she was actually looking for anything. Instead it seemed she was just her usual poke-around-everywhere self. At least, until she actually entered the storage room.

Straight away, Reuben knew that something was up with the room. But he couldn't tell what that could be. Mirai, however, seemed to know.

"This isn't right." She muttered, before heading into the middle of the room.

All of a sudden, they were back to focusing on the body. Reuben blinked at the abrupt change in scene before focusing. Kyouko and Kosuke were no longer kneeling next to Kevin. Instead, Kosuke was conferring with Emi, who was drawing in her sketchbook. From the way Kosuke was pointing things out, it looked as if she was making sketches of the body to use later. Kyouko was talking to Makoto, who seemed to be finished with Kevin's room, while putting items into small clear plastic bags. Reuben recognised this tactic–clearly the small plastic bags were meant to be a stand in for proper evidence bags.

"Did you find anything in the room?" Emi asked Makoto.

"Not really-it was wiped clean apart from some stains on the bedside table. I'll get Kiyomizu-san to talk you through it .She's trying to find what we may have missed-she's more observant than I am."

"Coolio. " Emi left them.

Suzu approached them just as Emi entered Kevin's room. Arisa was a few steps behind her. She was cleaned up and wearing a white knee-length dress with matching pumps. Suzu had lent her cardigan, which Arisa was pulling tightly around herself. Reuben grinned. He didn't think Nanako was the type to lend her clothes out.

"What happened to Tamuro-san?" Makoto enquired.

Suzu pulled her little bell out of her bag and rang it. The others looked at her as she quickly wrote something and held it up.

_She doesn't want to have to touch the body .Thinks it is gross. _The subtitles really were helpful, Reuben thought as he watched the others roll their eyes. Suzu put away her notebook and bell, and then carefully approached Kevin's body.

"I don't think you-"Kosuke was cut off when all Suzu did was reach over to close Kevin's eyes, so that they were no longer staring into nothing. Once she did so, she stepped back and went back to Arisa.

"Thanks." Arisa said quietly. That's when Reuben remembered that Arisa was the only one who had actually talked to Kevin for extended amounts of time, as both were quite knowledgeable in maths. Any other conversation topic and Kevin floundered. Just as he wondered if anyone who would pick up on that, he got another message from Arielle.

lowercasecoolgirl: When are you working at the Bird House again?

RGOODRICH34: Saturday. Why?

lowercasecoolgirl: I might come by with Maddie. Dunno if we should get takeout or make a date out of it though. What do you think is best?

RGOODRICH34: How would I know?

RGOODRICH34: Anyway, I'm working the takeout counter. As always.

lowercasecoolgirl: Take out it is! Anyways, gotta go. C U L8R! Don't stay up all night.

RGOODRICH34: =P, whatever. Bye.

Arielle went offline, and Reuben closed the tab. luckily he had only missed a minute or two of the video, and nothing of real significance had happened. There were a few clips of video set to soundtrack- Dai in the garbage room, picking up a key and inspecting it, Mirai coming out of the storage room, Akihito poking around in the kitchen, Marvin harassing Eirik mercilessly while Chihiro watched wide eyed and Shika looking as if she was following a scent. Then, another announcement from Monobear coincided with a scene change back to Kyouko, who was arriving back to the scene of the crime. From where, Reuben didn't have a clue.

"Erm, so I am getting so bored! Surely you bastards have found something. Anyway, free time is over!Please make your way to the basement elevator!I hope you are all excited. Upupu!"

"What…was that?" Arisa asked. "What is he even talking about…basement elevator?"

"I saw the place. It was locked though, so I thought it was just a simple basement. "Kyouko said. "I'll lead the way." And she did. Eventually, they were all making their way to the elevator.

"Woah." Emi summed up everyone's thoughts with just that one word.

As soon as the last of them were in, the elevator doors closed, and with a ping, it started going down.

Everyone remained in terrified silence until it got to its destination. The doors slid open smoothly, and they all stepped out into one of the strangest rooms they had ever seen.

The room was round in shape, with 18 stands and a throne arranged in a circle in the centre of the room. Monobear was sitting on the throne.

"Upupupu! Do you like the new wallpaper? I put it in especially for you bastards." The wallpaper was bright blue and very tacky. There wasn't much more that needed to be said regarding that.

"Shut up, bear." Eirik said.

"Ooh, fine. Anyway, please take a seat-or should I say a stand?"

_That was bad, even by my standards._ Reuben mentally groaned at Monobear's attempt at a joke. Everyone save for Kyouko went to one of the stands.

"What is the meaning of that?" Kyouko pointed to one of the stands, which didn't have a space for a person. Instead, it had a large picture of Kevin attached to a long pole. Red paint was splashed in the shape of a cross over his face.

"Well, it isn't fair to leave him out because he's dead! "

"That makes no sense. " Arisa said bluntly. Kyouko went to take the last empty stand, which was next to Makoto.

"So, Monobear. What is this about?" Kyouko demanded.

"Ooh, you've not figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out? You make no sense!" Akihito said in annoyance.

"Upupupu, I'm so disappointed. The short version is, one of you guys killed Mr social awkwardness over there, and now you need to figure out which one of you it was. Hopefully you used your free time wisely to help with that. "

"What's the catch?" Emi asked.

"Catch?" Monobear put on a face of innocence-not that Reuben could see how that would even be possible.

Emi narrowed her eyes. "There's always a catch. " _Exactly what I was thinking._

"Well , since you asked nicely…..basically , if you figure out who the correct culprit is , only that person will be punished , and if you get it wrong , the correct culprit will be the only one to escape punishment , and thereby escape the school!"

"And by 'punishment' you mean…"

"Execution, of course!Lovely, isn't it?"

Kyouko gritted her teeth as everyone else angrily protested.

"Wait…we're gonna die if we don't figure out what doofus did this?" Nanako demanded angrily.

"Oh no, how terrible! Hey, we'll be able to get out, right?" Marvin batted her eyelashes at Makoto-at least, that is what it seemed like. It could have been any of the boys, knowing what Marvin was like.

"I'm sure if we put our heads together, we won't end up dying. " Dai said. "Or at least, we won't _all _end up dying. Am I right, Monobear?"

"You are a smart one, aren't you, Yoshida-kun? Upupupu, that's right. If you bastards guess correctly, only one person will be dying, and you'll be safe…at least, until the next murder happens. So what are you waiting for? Let's begin!"

Almost as soon as Monobear's little speech ended, a black background filled the screen, and then white characters appeared abruptly on screen, along with sound effects that made it seem as if the characters were being forcibly stamped onto the background. The subtitles at the bottom showed that the characters read 'Classroom Trial now in action!"

Then, the video ended.

Reuben blinked. Did that really just happen? Really? He badly wanted to watch the next video and see what a 'Classroom Trial' was like. But a glance at the clock and an unpreventable yawn destroyed that idea, so he gave up, shut down the computer, and went to bed.

**And so, the trial starts next chapter. I am actually surprised that I got to finish this chapter so quickly-I am not sure if the same will happen with the next chapters, so don't expect that chapter to get uploaded the next day or anything like that. I will try to be as quick as I can though. **

**Regarding Reuben's side of the story, keep an eye out for Arielle. She will be important to the story later. And for anyone who is wondering if Arielle and Reuben are going to be an item, the answer is no, and the reason is in this chapter if you look carefully. But anyway, keep an eye out for her. Oh , and her Instant Messaging name is actually a book reference. Can you guess it? **

**So, what did you think of my first investigation chapter? What are your thoughts on the case? Any ideas on who the culprit could be? Or even as to their motive? **

**Please leave feedback!**


	8. Pilot: part 3

**I think the culprit is likely to be revealed in this one –I hope you enjoy the chapter. **

**Review Reply to Kevin Brown: I wouldn't say you were asking for it…although I am curious as to whether you named your character after yourself or not. Anyway , I am glad you will still continue this story. **

Reuben practically rushed home to watch the Classroom Trial video the next day. As he'd had a half day, he figured that he could watch a couple of the videos and then do some practice biology exam questions from the booklet that had been given out in his lesson.

The video started almost exactly where the previous one had stopped, with the stamped-on writing briefly appearing on the screen before disappearing to reveal the 17 students and Monobear in what Reuben assumed was a courtroom of sorts.

"So…what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" Nanako asked.

"I believe the point of this is we share what we have found in order to come to a conclusion." Dai said.

"That's right." Kyouko confirmed.

"In that case, shouldn't you start, Kirigiri-san?" Akihito asked. "I mean, you were the one dealing with the body."

"You're using my sketches, right? Because having corpses in my sketchbook better be worth it!" Emi asked.

Kyouko merely nodded to her and began.

"As it says in the Monobear Files, the victim died as a result of a whack to the head-"

"You mean, like with a cricket bat like in the movies?" Nanako interrupted.

"That's wrong!" Makoto interjected "He was actually hit with a glass bottle. Repeatedly" Makoto held up an evidence bag with some small blood-stained glass shards while Emi held up a sketch of the head wound. Reuben shuddered at how scarily accurate it was.

"I would have got onto that, but yes. This explains some of the large amounts of the blood, as if he was hit with a glass bottle that was broken, he would have got cut as well. "

"Where did the glass bottle come from?" Dai asked.

"There were glass stains on his bedside table, right, Kiyomizu-san?" Makoto asked.

Akaya nodded. Reuben didn't think she was going to speak but then she did.

"But the rest of the room was spotless. No hairs, no blood stain, nothing."

Kosuke looked mildly baffled "But we had assumed he had been dragged from his room, hence the blood trail."

"That is still possible." Everyone stared at Kyouko is confusion. "The room being cleaned would be a way of getting any traces of the culprit out of the room , especially if said traces were distinctive , such as a unique hair colour. "

Everyone had a reaction to that, ranging from bafflement to protest. There were a few people who looked uncomfortable.

"Wait, what happened to the glass bottle we were talking about?" Marvin asked. _Are you really interested? Or just hoping to score points? _Reuben wondered, scrutinising her unreadable expression.

Dai held up a chunky key. "I believe it would have been disposed of the same time as the evidence in the room was."

"What is that?" Marvin asked, batting her eyelids.

"It's a key." Eirik rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Not just any key. The to the garbage room!" Dai proclaimed. "It was dropped just outside it, as if the person who used it had forgotten they had it. "

"Wait, the garbage room had a key?" Shika asked in confusion.

"Yes, it did." Dai confirmed.

"Where was it? Why did we not do anything about it?" Kyouko asked.

"It was kept near the front entrance, in a set of drawers." Afar said. "It wasn't interesting though, so I left it."

"Gee, thanks." Arisa drawled sarcastically. Reuben grinned briefly at that.

"So basically, somebody stole it. Assumingly to get rid of evidence. But what sort of evidence and why?" Janus asked.

"It must have been whatever the glass bottle was, and possibly whatever was used to clean his room." Kosuke said, as if that was obvious. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. Pulling out one of the cigarettes, he lit it and began to smoke it.

"AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE A DOCTOR!?" Shika squawked in astonishment.

"Yes. And?" Kosuke either didn't see the irony or just plain didn't care.

"But…but…but….."

"Like the issue of the key, that is something we can come back to later, okay, Sayuri-san?" Kyouko said calmly.

"O-okay..."

"Are you not meant to be revising?" It took a while for Reuben to process the statement, and when he did he realised it had come from outside the video. He paused the video and pulled out his earphones and spun his chair around.

Megan was standing in his doorway wearing her hair in a fancy up-do and wearing too much make-up, despite clearly having just come home from school.

"I will be. What's up with you?"

"Eh?"

Reuben gestured to her appearance. Megan glared.

"Reu, everyone wears makeup! Deal with it!"

"Do what you like. I can't oppose you , I'm not a girl. Just, tone it down a bit? I think it might be better."

Megan pulled a face.

"I guess…it is a pain….but…."

Reuben grinned evilly.

"Big brother's always right, don't you know?"

Megan pulled a face and glared. Matilda appeared, peering around Megan's legs.

"Ooh." She stared at Reuben, wide eyed.

"That girl looks familiar." Megan pointed to the screen, changing the topic. The screenshot the video was paused at showed Kosuke, Kyouko, Makoto, Suzu and Janus. Arisa's hair was also in the shot, but she was cut off for the most part.

"Which one?" Reuben asked.

"Her." Megan had pointed to Suzu.

"Right…"

Matilda chose that moment to run away again, and Megan took chase, yelling at the little girl to stay out of her room. Soon, Reuben could hear lots of shrieks and giggles. He grinned, and turned back to the video before pressing play.

"But how can we possibly find out who dropped the key? Can't we get like, fingerprints or something?" Marvin asked

"Does this LOOK like some kind of CSI to you? We don't have all that fancy crap." Janus replied.

"In any case, how the hell is focusing on a mystery bottle going to help?" Arisa demanded.

"I could smell vodka earlier." Shika said randomly. Everyone ignored her.

"It might be a way of leading to motive, no?" Akaya pointed out.

"Erm, I don't mean to spoil the party, but I think we've forgotten something." Emi held up her sketchbook open at a page as everyone stared at her.

"What about that odd stain that was hidden by the blood?"

All of a sudden, the video ended.

Reuben was tempted to click on the next video straight away, but he knew that he needed to revise or he'd be in trouble. So instead, he reluctantly shut down his computer and went to do his exam questions.

…

Reuben was responsible for making dinner that night, and so he decided to attempt to replicate a pasta bake recipe from the Bird House's menu. Matilda wanted to help, so he had her mixing the sauce, and then he roped Megan in to keep an eye on Matilda (much to both girls' annoyance). The result was an incredibly messy kitchen, and so most of the evening was spent cleaning up.

By the time they had all finished, Reuben was incredibly tired. This is why he decided that he would just watch the next video before going to bed, as opposed to doing more revising.

The next video started at the exact point the previous one had stopped; meaning the timing of the cut-off had been coincidental.

Everyone stared at Emi in stunned silence.

"What? Don't tell me you all forgot?"

"Actually, I think we might have…" Makoto looked sheepish. "Thanks, Kasuragi-san."

"Eh, no problem!" Emi looked pleased.

"So, what about this stain? What is it? "Nanako asked.

"It appears to be make-up of some kind. " Kyouko said.

"Huh? So does that mean the culprit is female?" Akihito asked.

"That would make sense." Kyouko replied.

"No it wouldn't!" Marvin declared "It could be a red herring thingy! You know, when someone does something to throw the police off scent!"

"That's wrong!" Makoto interjected. "If it was a red herring, then why was it hidden?"

"Because it was a red herring!" Marvin argued.

"No, that's wrong! Think about it. If the culprit was trying to frame someone else by using the make-up, then they wouldn't have needed to hide it. Right, Kirigiri-san?"

"That is the conclusion I came to myself." She agreed.

Marvin didn't argue back, instead opting to stew in annoyance. For some reason, Reuben was pleased with this. The girl was annoying. Really annoying.

"So, I guess we can narrow it down somewhat. But that's still what, 11 suspects?" Akihito asked.

"It might actually be less if you discount the ones who don't use make up. Such as me." Akaya piped up.

"I-I don't wear make-up either." Chihiro said hesitantly.

"Neither do I!" Mirai said. She looked annoyed at being there. Probably more down to her personality quirks than any actual involvement in the murder, Reuben decided.

Suzu rang her bell. Eirik automatically read out what she had written.

"I have make-up with me, but none of it is that bright. And I haven't used it since arriving."

They went through all the girls, until it was established that the only girls who owned some sort of make-up that was remotely close to that red shade were Shika, Arisa, Nanako and Marvin. However , the former two had only brought the makeup with them to use for special occasions such as Christmas and class parties-this was at a time they'd believed they were in for a normal school life , after all.

"So, it is out of these two, huh?" Akihito mused, looking at the two suspects with a cheeky grin.

"Like I'd EVER go near that…that…that….THAT!" Nanako protested angrily.

"Why would I kill him? I _loved _him." Marvin pulled a sad face._Really? _Reuben wondered

"Hah! Like you'd know what love really was?" Arisa said in annoyance, sharing Reuben's sentiments.

"Do you?" Marvin responded snidely.

"I know more than you!"

"This isn't really helping, guys. " Makoto said wearily.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" both girls yelled.

"Ou of what, exactly? This argument is merely hot air." Janus commented idly. The result of that comment was that the girls went quiet.

"In any case, how do we figure out which of them it was?" Dai asked "Both have equally compelling, if still unconvincing, reasons for innocence. "

"I'm telling you, I didn't kill him. Why would I even go near him? He's such a geek!" Nanako declared.

Everyone paused, trying to figure out where to go next. Reuben was sure that he knew who the culprit was now, but he decided to wait it out. After a while of silence, Chihiro eventually spoke up.

"Sayuri-san, you said something earlier, didn't you?"

"'My aunt packed the make-up set?'"

"No. Something about vodka?"

Shika had a light-bulb moment.

"OH! Yeah, I could smell vodka earlier. And wine, too!"

Clearly, nobody else remembered her random comment from before.

"Wait, so you weren't just being random?!" Akihito asked in shock, the penny dropping.

"No!"

"When did you smell it, exactly?" Kyouko asked, taking over. As usual.

"Erm…near the storage room, and definitely near the dorms." A light bulb went off in Reuben's head now, as he recalled some clips from an earlier video. It was almost certain that he had correctly guessed the culprit.

"Possibly near Kevin Brown's dorm room?"

"I...Let me think…yeah! Definitely, yeah!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!"

Makoto smiled. "If alcohol has something to do with the case, then that is a lot of questions answered!"

Kosuke nodded in agreement "An empty wine bottle would certainly fit the bill for the murder weapon, and that could explain the stains on the bedside table …but why is there alcohol in the school? Monobear? Hello? Monobear?" The scene briefly focused on Monobear, who was asleep.

_Seriously?_

"WAKE UP, MONOBEAR!" Afar scared everyone by yelling unexpectedly. The bear practically jumped out of the throne, which made Reuben smirk.

"Yes? Oh, don't tell me I missed the interesting things!" The bear lamented.

Kosuke ignored this comment.

"Tell me, do you keep alcohol in the school?"

"Why, of course! It makes people do things they normally wouldn't do! And look how wonderfully things turned out!"

"Really? " Janus asked.

"Ah, I may as well stay awake now; see what you have for me." Monobear grinned in glee.

"I didn't even know that alcohol was available here…" Arisa said in astonishment, reeling from the shock. "I didn't think Kevin would drink."

"He may have been coerced, Ishi-san." Makoto said.

Suzu's bell rang. She looked grim-faced.

"I think Sakamoto-san has something she is hiding. If I am right, then afterwards I will tell you something. "Eirik read.

Everyone looked at Mirai.

"What?" she snarled.

"If you have something that could be useful to the trial, then please share it." Kyouko told her.

"What does this have to do with me…?"

"Sakamoto-san, please?" Mirai looked at Chihiro, and then pulled a face.

"Fine, fine! I went to the storage room, and it was a mess. One of the boxes, which I will call the X-Rated box, was kicked around completely. Stuff had definitely been taken away from , and I found this!" From nowhere, Mirai produced a small red scrunched up cloth. She shook it out, and it was revealed to be a dress. A very small dress.

"Ah. Well that ties in with what we were going to say. "Janus said. "Yesterday, we were looking for Suzu's bell in the storage room." Suzu held up the bell to illustrate this, and then Janus continued.

"While we were there, Karin-san came in, changed her clothes, and then proceeded to drag away lots of what was quite possibly bottles of vodka and wine in a large sack. "

Marvin's mouth fell wide open.

"How …" Kyouko carefully considered her question. "How did she look while doing this? "

Janus and Suzu silently conferred for a while, before Janus answered.

"As if she was rejected, and intending to change that."

Marvin's expression changed to one of anger, but she still said nothing.

"I see. In that case, I think we have our answer. What do you think, Naegi-kun?"

"I think I agree. "Makoto turned to Marvin, and pointed at her.

"Karin-san, you are the one who killed Kevin Brown!"

**This one actually slightly went against type-I was originally going to have Marvin as the first victim, and have a different boy as the culprit….then I had this idea, and I couldn't resist. Anyway, next chapter will be the part of the trial where they make Marvin confess, and there will then be an execution…O.O , again , seen from Reuben's viewpoint. **

**Please leave feedback!**


	9. Pilot: Final Part

**Execution chapter! Some of this will deal with setting up the next part of Reuben's side to the story, and the special-role OC will make her first appearance. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Review Reply to Kevin Brown: Oh, Okay. That makes sense. Thanks for the review!**

Marvin's face was a picture as Makoto delivered the verdict. Reuben was pleased that he'd guessed correctly.

"What-what makes you think that?" she asked, fluttering her eyes in an attempt to appear sincere.

"Don't be bloody stupid!" Arisa retorted "You know full well what we're on about!"

"If you are still unwilling to confess, then allow us to list the evidence against you." Kyouko said.

"The most damning evidence would be the make-up , no? it would be reasonable to assume that the colour matches that of the lipstick Karin-san likes to wear." Dai said.

"That is correct." Kyouko said "In addition to this, the murder weapon was ascertained to be a glass bottle, such as those that hold alcoholic drinks. From the testimony provided by Abandonato-san and Isaki-san, we also know that the only person who knew about the presence of the alcohol in this school was indeed Karin-san."

"Nooo, Sakamoto-san knew about it too!" Marvin protested feebly.

"Does it look as if I cared about it though?" Mirai said cuttingly. _Good one…_

"And I think we can even figure out _why_ you committed the murder." Janus put in.

"For one thing, you were all over him on the first day. " Akihito said "Not only is that incredibly bad taste –no disrespect to the dead- but it is also incredibly damning."

"Dude, she was all over all the boys. You included." Emi retorted

"Yeah, but we all more or less ignored her. I know for a fact that Abandonato-san went out of his way to avoid her and Maeda-kun just rejected her outright. "Akihito responded

"What-what are you trying to get at?" Marvin looked visibly frightened.

_You _should_ be afraid, Marvin Karin. Very afraid. _Reuben felt evil for thinking it, but knew it was true.

"Kevin was an idiot. Not in terms of intellect, but socially. He wanted to make a good impression, and so he was much too nice to her. More than she deserved. "Arisa said. Then she paused "Actually, any niceness is more than she deserved."

"You must have been tired of being rejected so much. " Janus said "Especially considering you are the SDHSL charmer. So you decided to fall back on the one thing you knew would get you results-alcohol."

Suzu rang her bell, and as usual, Eirik read out what she had written.

"It makes a person lose their inhibitions."

"Exactly. " Janus said.

"So she approaches Kevin, asks to what…have a chat or something, then brings the alcohol to his room?" Shika asked.

"That sounds right. " Kyouko said, looking interested at the direction the conversation was taking.

"They must have talked then, and when they were suitably drunk she must have tried to make a move on him." Suzu pulled a face at Shika's words.

Pleased with her ideas not getting outright ignored, Shika went on.

"He must have rejected her at the last minute. And boy, that would have gotten a girl like her real mad. "

"So she hit him repeatedly on the head with a baseball bat?" Nanako asked sceptically.

"IT WAS A GLASS BOTTLE!" Arisa yelled.

"That really is a moot point now we've established it anyway. From there we can see that she then cleaned the room to get rid of any traces she may have left behind, and then dragged the body out to confuse the scene. Afterwards, she would have disposed of everything else. "Kyouko said.

"Which about sums this whole thing up." Makoto said.

"No. no it doesn't." Kosuke said. If Reuben had been part of the cast, he would have given Kosuke a blank look much like the ones most of the others were now giving him.

"Some of the blood is still unaccounted for. " Oh.

"I have a theory about that!" Shika said. "I think…"

"What, that Karin's a vampire?" Nanako said sarcastically (at least, he hoped it was sarcastic. If there was anything he knew about Nanako it was that she was a little dim. )

"Nooo! Look how she's wearing long sleeves! What if she cut her arms to allow more blood to drip all over him or something?"

Part of Shika's statement was at least true. Marvin's outfit, although very short and revealing, had long sleeves. She was also wearing knee-high boots with precariously high heels. And judging by how pale Marvin went, Shika was probably right.

"You...That's really stupid you know! Why would I want to look like a self-harmer?" she protested feebly.

"If that's the case, pull up your sleeves, please." Kyouko said.

"Eh? Why should I? Isn't this a violation of rights?"

"Just do it, Karin-san." Makoto sounded tired.

Marvin perked up, but a look from Kyouko put her back in her place, and she went straight back to persistently refusing.

"No! I'm telling you that I didn't even do it!Why would I? I don't want to kill anyone, I've never wanted to kill anyone….if you think I did it, then you are all stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid, the lot of you!"

"If you really didn't, then you shouldn't have a problem with showing us. " Akaya interjected quietly.

Marvin spluttered, and went purple, which made her lipstick stand out in a creepy way.

"N…No!" What's wrong with you?"

"Give it up, Karin-san. There's nothing that you can do. We've already found you guilty." Dai said in a voice that was surprisingly gentle considering the circumstances. Then again, it made sense, as he was the peacemaker type.

Marvin went silent, although her face remained angry for a few moments. Then, all expression left her, and she looked down.

"It would seem we have come to a conclusion. What now, Monobear?"

Monobear perked up instantly.

"Why, Kirigiri-san, isn't it obvious? A vote of course!"

"A vote?" Emi asked.

"Of course! We need to confirm your choice, no? Use the buttons in front of you and vottteeeee!" Monobear fell off his throne with glee and Reuben almost fell off his chair when a giant fruit machine appeared on screen out of nowhere. All of the students on screen were similarly surprised, but went on to vote anyway.

Rather than showing pictures of fruit or money, this machine had all the faces of the students, and these span until there were three matching pictures of Marvin, all lined up. Then, coins spewed out of either side of the machine.

"Upupupuuuu! You are correct! Karin-san is indeed our culprit! Therefore, she will be the only one to die!" Monobear had climbed back on to his throne and was now grinning in a way that should have been physically impossible.

"But…why?" Arisa asked.

Marvin refused to answer. Instead, she glared.

"Now, now! Forget this entire why, why business! Let's start the execution!" Monobear said.

"No."

Everyone stated at Janus.

"No." he repeated firmly. "I want to hear it. I want to hear her say that she killed him."

Marvin turned her glare to him, but he refused to back down.

"I want you to say it. Say it. "His glass eye, a red one this time, seemed to glow with fury. Perhaps this was his revenge for her having gone too far that first evening. Or something.

Suzu put a hand on his shoulder, a worried look on her face. He glanced at her, and his expression softened a fraction.

"I want you to say it." He repeated more calmly.

Marvin rolled her eyes, and then, finally, she spoke.

"Fine. I did it. I killed Kevin Brown. But he shouldn't have led me on!" Marvin suddenly became animated "No, he shouldn't have, that little –"

"Time's up! Off you go to die now!" Monobear hopped down from his throne and proceeded to drag Marvin away with a strength that was surprising. Realising what was happening, Marvin began to shriek, but nobody went to help her, and soon, she was off screen.

The screen went black, and bright letters filled them. The letters were in English and said 'A Girl's Night Out." The letters flashed a moment, as if they were fancy lights, and then the scene changed.

Marvin was sitting in a bar, looking nervous as she nursed a drink. There were only a few others in the bar, shown as indistinct silhouettes. The bartender, whose face was obscured, went about his business, and soon seemed to show an interest in her. Marvin, being Marvin, soon returned his interest, and soon the two were flirting-or at least, that is what it seemed like, as there was ear-destroying jazz music playing as background music.

_What the flip is this? _It didn't make sense. Wasn't this supposed to be an execution?

All of a sudden, it was closing time at the bar. The bartender and Marvin were the only ones left in the bar, and after closing up, they left together.

When they reached an alleyway, the bartender turned so he was looking out of the screen, and gave a chilling grin. Then, the music stopped, and everything went dark. The only thing that could be seen were the flash of a knife, and the only thing that could be heard were Marvin's screams.

When the light returned to the scene, the bartender was standing over Marvin, who was on the floor. The screen zoomed into her. She was dead, stabbed in many places, her insides spilling out. Some of her organs had been removed and placed next to her. The bartender gave his evil grin, and then quickly disappeared .Monobear came on the scene and inspected it, looking satisfied. He then sat down, picked up Marvin's liver, and started to eat it.

The scene faded out to show the remaining students watching the entire situation from behind a chain link fence and a very heavy-duty metal gate. All of them looked horrified, some looking like they were about to throw up (Shika having already done so).

The video ended at that point, and Reuben rubbed his eyes tiredly. What had he just seen? Turning off the computer, he went to bed and tried to sleep.

**…**

Caught up in revision, Reuben didn't really have time to watch any more of the videos, and as a consequence he didn't really think of them until Saturday came around and he was idly trying to practise math questions while waiting for the evening crowd to come into the Bird House.

"REUBEN!"

The door swung open and two teenage girls entered, surprising the customers who were eating in. They headed straight to the take-out counter, and Reuben grinned.

"Arielle, Maddie. What can I get you?"

Arielle grinned back, and pushed a lock of untameable brown curly hair out of her face.

"Erm. What's on the menu? Anything new?"

Reuben handed them a copy of the menu.

"Hey, whatcha think, Maddie?"

Maddie looked at the menu with thoughtful green eyes.

"Hmm, the lasagne sandwich looks good. Unusual. "

"The Bird House specialises in unusual." Reuben told her.

Arielle grinned. "Oh, you! Stop promoting the place already!"

Reuben rolled his eyes at her. She did the same. Then , they childishly stuck their tongues out at each other. A familiar routine, one developed many years ago.

"So, anyway. " Reuben smiled "You going to order anything?"

Arielle and Maddie discussed for a while, and then they gave their order. Reuben took it to the kitchen and came back to chat with the two girls.

A family entered the restaurant, but Reuben didn't pay much attention to them until he noticed Thomas approaching them.

"Hey, it's one of my success stories!" he said happily.

Arielle swatted Thomas on the back of the head when he got there, and they both laughed. As someone who had grown up a few streets away from Reuben, Thomas knew Arielle pretty well, and despite clashing, they had reached an understanding as Thomas had been responsible for setting Arielle up with Maddie.

"What are you doing here?" Reuben asked.

"My cousin Lucy, she's taking some mid-course gap year, and she's travelling the world with her friend, and they decided to stop of here and visit us. After that, they'll go to Japan to visit her friend's family."

"I see. The friend is Japanese?"

"Yes. Her name is Kim, or something."

Kim didn't sound very Japanese. Reuben raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway, come check her out. She's hot. AND, she can help us with our Biology exam!"

"How?"

"Kim's is studying Biology. She's like a plant genius. "

"Right…"

"Go, Reuben!" Arielle commanded "We'll call you back over if anyone else wants takeout!"

"It's fine, really." Maddie agreed.

Reuben considered this.

"Mum or Dad'll bring the order to you soon. Just wait there, okay?" he stepped out from behind the counter and followed Thomas to the table.

Thomas's parents recognised Reuben and said hi. Lucy also greeted him. The other girl was Lucy's friend, a girl with long black hair tied in a ponytail with a pink ribbon, wearing a black skirt and a pink top with a white peter-pan collar. Her face seemed awfully familiar.

"You must be Reuben." She said in a lightly accented, quiet voice. "Thomas tells me a lot about name is Kimiko Ishi. I understand you are doing biology as an exam and need help?"

"Yes …" _Ishi?_

"We're only staying for a week, but I can meet up with you two during that time to help you if you need. I really enjoy Biology.

"You don't need to, Kimi! " Lucy protested "No need to indulge my bratty cousin and his bratty mate." From her voice, she was clearly joking.

"It's fine." Kimiko said. "Really."

"I'll get Thomas to tell you when we can meet up. It'd be cool if you could help us, Kimiko….-san?" Reuben said politely, hoping he'd used the right honorific. He never did get around to researching them properly.

"You know Japanese?" Kimiko asked with interest.

"No..."

"Reuben watches all sorts of odd crap. He picks up everything." Thomas informed her.

"Oh, I see."

"Anyway, I don't really deal with the eat-ins, but do any of you want a drink while you decide what to get? I can ask Mum to deal with it."

"No, it's fine." Thomas's father said.

"No thanks, dear." Thomas's mother replied.

"Nah, I'm cool." Lucy grinned.

Kimiko hesitated a moment, then asked "Erm…do you have Earl Grey tea?"

**…**

Reuben was shattered when he finally got home, as he'd had to go and pick Matilda up from her play date as soon as he had finished. So he pretty much crashed into bed at the first opportunity.

_Ishi…Ishi…Ishi…_The name was so familiar …had he heard it somewhere before? Where?

_ARISA ISHI_

_SDHSL: MATHEMATICIAN_

_Arisa Ishi. Kimiko Ishi. _The name was the same. And now that he thought about it, they looked similar as well. This was why Kimiko's face was familiar.

But what did it mean?

**And so, the seeds of doubt are planted…**

**Anyway, what did you think of the first execution? It's kinda basic, but I think it's suitably creepy. I don't know how many chapters will be between this and the next murder , but I hope you enjoyed this chapter , and will enjoy the next ones.**

**Please Leave Feedback!**


End file.
